FOR Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe, their special bond goes way back to well before they were even born.
Because the best pals from Bristol were born in 2001 – nearly two decades after their mums competed together as artistic swimmers.
Maria Shortman and Karen Thorpe missed out on qualification for the 1996 Olympics when the IOC dropped the artistic swimming duet and solo categories for the eight-woman competition and Team GB did not make it in.
By the time the duet event returned for Sydney 2000, Shortman Sr and Thorpe Sr’s moment had gone.
The Shortman and Thorpe families, though, remain as tight as ever all these years later – not just because they regularly pop round to each others’ houses for dinner and have the same breed of dog.
But now Maria and Karen’s daughters are quite literally following in their footsteps.
Because just like their mums, Kate, 22, and Izzy, 23, have teamed up to form their own Shortman-Thorpe artistic swimming duo.
They already went one step further than their parents by qualifying for the Tokyo Games three years ago, finishing 14th.
But now, they have high hopes of golden glory in Paris – with their Team GB spot announced as they swam with the turtles at the London Aquarium.
The Brits won a world championship silver medal together in the women’s duet technical routine in Doha in February.
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They then secured a World Cup gold in a test event for the newly-built Aquatics Centre in Paris in May.
And the duo believe they can clinch the same colour medal back in the French capital and become the first Brits to secure artistic swimming medals at the Olympics.
Shortman said: “Is the ambition to win gold? Absolutely!
“I think before Olympic gold almost seemed unattainable. It was more of a dream than a goal.
“Now, we’ve got our sights firmly set on it and we’re working as hard as possible to achieve it.”
Shortman and Thorpe started artistic swimming together during primary school aged eight at Filton Leisure Centre.
Now the uni students train in their local Bristol South Swimming Pool alongside aquarobics lessons and public swimmers, under the watchful eye of Izzy’s mum and coach Karen.
Performances are undoubtedly spectacular, elegant even majestic.
But artistic swimming training is brutally, physical hard work – 40 hours a week or more of gymnastics, yoga, gym work, video analysis and even apnea training, literally improving holding their breath.
It is a key part of success, with athletes required to be able to hold their breath underwater for up to three minutes, the length of routines – much of which are completed beneath the surface.
Shortman said: “I can’t stress how hard the sport is.
“Because it’s so glamorous, we’ve got our costumes on, it’s a distraction from the fact that this is a really, really hard sport.”
Thorpe added: “We’re supposed to be smiling so you can’t see the pain.
“The smile is fake.”
There will be nothing fake about their smiles should they get on the podium, though…
