Fran Halsall

Francesca Halsall

Halsall with 100 m freestyle silver medal at 2009 world championships
Personal information
Full name	Francesca Jean Halsall
Nickname	"Fran"
National team	Great Britain
Born	(1990-04-12) 12 April 1990 (age 35) Southport, England
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Website	FrancescaHalsall.com
Spouse	Jon Wilkin ​ (m. 2018)​
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, butterfly
Club	Loughborough University
Coach	James Gibson
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Championships (LC) 2 1 1 World Championships (SC) 0 3 3 European Championships 10 3 4 Commonwealth Games 3 7 1 Total 15 14 9 Women's swimming Representing   Great Britain World Championships (LC) 2015 Kazan 4×100 m mixed medley 2009 Rome 100 m freestyle 2013 Barcelona 50 m freestyle World Championships (SC) 2008 Manchester 100 m freestyle 2012 Istanbul 50 m freestyle 2014 Doha 4×50 m medley 2008 Manchester 50 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle 2008 Manchester 4×100 m medley European Championships (LC) 2006 Budapest 4×100 m medley 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m medley 2010 Budapest 100 m freestyle 2010 Budapest 4×100 m medley 2014 Berlin 50 m freestyle 2014 Berlin 50 m backstroke 2014 Berlin 4×100 m mixed medley 2016 London 50 m backstroke 2016 London 4×100 m medley 2016 London 4×100 m mixed medley 2010 Budapest 100 m butterfly 2010 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle 2016 London 50 m freestyle 2010 Budapest 50 m freestyle 2014 Berlin 50 m butterfly 2014 Berlin 4×100 m medley 2016 London 50 m butterfly Representing   England Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi 50 m butterfly 2014 Glasgow 50 m butterfly 2014 Glasgow 50 m freestyle 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m medley 2010 Delhi 50 m freestyle 2010 Delhi 4×100 m freestyle 2010 Delhi 4×100 m medley 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m freestyle 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m medley 2010 Delhi 100 m freestyle

Francesca Jean Halsall (born 12 April 1990) is a retired English competitive swimmer who has represented Great Britain at the Olympics, FINA world championships, and European championships, and England at the Commonwealth Games. She competed primarily in freestyle and butterfly events.

Halsall was the youngest member of the Team England swim squad at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she won silver medals in the 4×100-metre freestyle and 4×100-metre medley relays.

She was a member of the European Aquatics Championships 4×100-metre medley relay team that took gold in August 2006 and successfully defended their title in August 2008 in Eindhoven. Halsall won five medals at the 2010 European Championships in Budapest, 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and a Bronze and was a member of the 4x100-metre medley relay team that successfully defended their title for a second time. In winning five medals, she became the most successful British swimmer ever at a single championships.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, Halsall won a gold medal, with a national record of 26.19 seconds, in the 50-metre butterfly, beating the favoured Australians. In the 100-metre freestyle Halsall was expected to win easily but a bout of illness (Delhi Belly) left her pale and weak and she had to be content with the bronze medal. Just 20 minutes later and despite being almost unable to stand up she returned for the 100-metre butterfly semi finals but failed to make the final. Later in the Games Halsall recovered enough to win 3 more silver medals in the women's 50-metre freestyle and as part of the 4x100-metre freestyle and 4x100-metre medley relay teams.

Personal life

Halsall was born in Southport and attended St Mary's College, Crosby. ^[1]

In July 2017, Halsall was made an Honorary Doctor of Science (HonDSc) by Edge Hill University. ^{[2] [3]}

Halsall is married to rugby league star Jon Wilkin. ^[4]

Swimming career

2008 FINA Short Course World Championships

Halsall won four medals at 2008 World Short Course Championships in Manchester, including 4×100 m freestyle bronze on her 18th birthday. She won the silver medal in the 100 m freestyle behind Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands.

2008 Summer Olympics

Halsall represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 100 m butterfly, 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 4×100 m freestyle, 4×200 m freestyle and 4×100 m medley

In the 100 m freestyle final, she placed 8th, at 54.29. She swam a British record of 53.81 which helped the British quartet set a new national record of 3:38.18 in the 4×100 m freestyle.

2009 FINA Long Course World Championships

Halsall competed in 4 events at the 2009 world championships in Rome. She set a championship record for the 100m freestyle in the lead-off leg during the heats, and in the finals swam the lead leg, with Great Britain placing 7th. Halsall placed 5th in the 50m freestyle in a national record of 24.11. In the 100m, she out-touched Lisbeth Trickett of Australia to take silver in a national record of 52.87, with Germany's Britta Steffen winning in a new world record of 52.07. Halsall anchored the 4x100 metre medley relay to 5th place.

2012 Summer Olympics

See also: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Halsall competed in five events. ^[5] Halsall reached the semi-finals of 100m butterfly, posting a time of 58.52, ^[6] well off her season's best of 57.56 set in March. ^[7] Halsall made the finals of the 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle, finishing 6th and 5th respectively. ^[8] In the 4×100 m freestyle relay Halsall swam the second leg in a split of 53.29, helping the British team to a 5th-place finish. In the final of the 4×100 m medley relay the British team finished 8th, with Halsall providing an anchor leg of 54.08.

2013 FINA Long Course World Championships

Having just missed out on a medal in the 50m butterfly by coming fourth, Halsall successfully gained bronze in the 50m freestyle posting a time of 24.30 seconds. This ended a disappointing drought of medals for Great Britain just one year after the London Olympics, though Halsall was the only swimmer to finish in a medal-winning position. ^[9]

2014 Commonwealth Games

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Halsall won gold in the 50 m freestyle, setting three new Commonwealth Games records along the way. ^[10] She also won the 50 m butterfly in a Games record time. ^[10] In the relay events, she helped England to win silver in the 4 × 100 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m medley. ^[10]

2016 Olympics

Halsall competed for Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal in the 50 metres freestyle and helping the GB team to finish 7th in the 4 × 100 m freestyle. ^[11]

Kazan 2015

Personal bests and records held

Event	Long course	Short course
50 m freestyle	23.96 (2014) NR	23.44 (2009) NR
100 m freestyle	52.87 (2009) NR	51.19 (2009) NR
200 m freestyle	1.59.13 (2008)	1.53.79 (2010) NR
50 m butterfly	25.20 (2014) NR	25.29 (2014) NR
100 m butterfly	57.40 (2010)	55.71 (2009) NR
100 m individual medley		58.55 (2009)
Record Key NR:British

See also

• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (women)

References

1. "Gold for Fran!". School News. St. Mary's College. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
2. Saunders, Lawrence (4 July 2017). "Edge Hill University announces honorary degree recipients – Your Move Magazine". YM Liverpool. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
3. "Honorary awards". Edge Hill University. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
4. Heppenstall, Ross (29 January 2020). "Super League ready for kick-off with all on-field eyes on big-spending Toronto Wolfpack". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
5. "Francesca Halsall – Swimming – Olympic Athlete". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
6. "Women's 100 Butterfly – Olympic Swimming". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
7. "SwimNews Rankings". swimnews.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. "Women's 50m Freestyle – Olympic Swimming". London 2012 Olympics. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
9. Hope, Nick (6 August 2013). "Why did GB swimmers miss their medal target in Barcelona?". BBC Sport . Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
10. "Glasgow 2014 – Francesca Halsall Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
11. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fran Halsall". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Fran Halsall at World Aquatics
• Francesca Halsall at Swimrankings.net
• Francesca Halsall at Olympics.com
• Fran Halsall at Olympedia
• Fran Halsall at Team GB (archive)
• Francesca Halsall at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2006)
• Francesca Halsall at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived) (2010–2014)
• Profile at British Swimming Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine