The Olympic Games will always be special for swimmer Fran Halsall even if she fails in her bid for gold tonight.
The 22-year-old Briton, who is in the 100m freestyle final, met her boyfriend at the Beijing athletes’ village four years ago.
She is still with Alistair Wilson, a key defender in Team GB’s hockey team, and the pair — dubbed the Posh and Becks of the London Games by the BBC — now live and train together in Loughborough.
Halsall said: “It’s pretty interesting having two Olympians in a couple. Before he qualified I tried not to talk too much about me qualifying.
“It works well having two athletes but we are very competitive, especially with Monopoly.” She is ranked third in the world and won silver in the 2009 world championship.
However, she has a secret weapon she hopes will lift her to the top of the podium. The Stockport-born swimmer has grown her nails for an extra advantage at the finishing line. “I need to because everyone’s taller than me,” she said.
Halsall will then continue to cheer on her boyfriend in the hockey. Wilson said: “It helps to go out with another professional athlete because it means we’re quite understanding of each other.
“But it can be tough. We are away a lot and don’t always get to spend the time with each other we’d perhaps like.”
