Glamour. Swagger. Preening. Machismo.
Think pecs. Think posturing. Think pouting. And that’s just the boys.
Staring down the lane before the start of the race with an intensity akin to a matador about to challenge the bull in the ring. A duel.
Is it man or woman against the water or is the water a friend, helping the freestyle sprinter make their way through at maximum speed.
There is an exhilaration borne of a sprinter at peak form, seemingly gliding along the top of the water.
Fran Halsall’s mum Diane once revealed she doesn’t breathe during her daughter’s races. So it’s a good job Fran didn’t choose the 800 free. Or the 25km open water.
Fran – with world, European and Commonwealth medals in the sprints – points to the stardust element of the freestyle.
“I think it is the most pure stroke because it’s the fastest, it gets you from A to B quicker than anything else,” she laughs.
“It is quite glamorous. I suppose with the 100m – fastest man in the world, fastest woman in the world – and the fastest through water.”
The 24-year-old also has an opinion on the male of the freestyle species.
“I think the boys in the sprint freestyle are very confident – they have a very big presence about them and not just because they are…
