Artistic swimming is all about being in sync with you partner and moving as one in the pool. Luckily, that’s not a problem for Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe.
Best friends for over a decade and inseparable out of the pool – the dream team will now have the chance to show what they’re about on the biggest stage of all, the Olympic Games.
More than ten years of hard work and graft has culminated in Shortman, 19, and Thorpe, 20, making their Olympic debut in the duet event at Tokyo 2020 after securing their spot with a seventh-place finish at a qualifying event in Barcelona earlier this summer.
And the jubilant duo, who met at Clifton High School in Bristol’s swimming pool as fresh-faced 10-year-olds, could barely contain their excitement after they booked their place on the plane.
“I’m a bit emotional,” explained Shortman. “It’s a dream come true, over ten years of work for this moment and words can’t even describe it.
“I’m buzzing and emotional and if I talk about it for too long, I’ll probably cry!”
Thorpe added: “Whenever anyone says ‘you’re going to the Olympics’, I’m still like ‘oh my gosh – it’s amazing’.
“We’ve worked so hard for it, through all the postponements. I’m just so excited to be able to take it all in and enjoy the experience.”
Having come through the ranks together, Tokyo 2020 holds extra significance for the Bristol pairing.
And Thorpe believes the familiarity with her partner will help catapult them forward to success.
“For us we’ve always spent 24/7 together, even before Covid,” she added.
“We were going to school together, we would train together, we’d share rooms together, eat together, literally everything together – so we’re quite used to spending lots of time together.
“I think we’ve benefitted from the space from the pandemic because then when we got back together it was like we had so much catching up to do – and now we’re stronger than ever.”
Qualifying for the Olympic Games is the culmination of years of blood, sweat and tears – and Shortman and Thorpe both know Tokyo 2020 will be different.
But despite the unusual vibes and unfamiliarity of the situation, the pair are determined to enjoy their Games debut in Japan as much as they possibly can.
“I think we don’t ever put too much pressure on ourselves to perform in a certain way,” said Shortman.
“Every past Olympian I’ve spoken to has just told me to enjoy the moment and to grasp every second.
“Don’t let it slip away from you because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity – you’re only at the Olympics for a few weeks so enjoy every single second of it.”
And Shortman’s words were echoed by Thorpe, who added: “It’s really easy to get caught up in being there to compete and being really serious, which is obviously important.
“But you also need to be able to enjoy the experience as a whole.
“I think we now appreciate competing a lot more – and we hope we can go out there at the Olympics and really enjoy it.”