Kate and Izzy aim to make country proud at second Olympic Games

Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe say they’re aiming to make the country proud after being named as Team GB’s sole artistic swimmers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The duet, who won a World Aquatics Championships silver medal in Doha in February, will be competing at their second Olympics, after finishing 14th on their debut in Tokyo.

However, they will head to the French capital brimming with confidence after becoming one of the leading international duos in the sport having also won a bronze medal for Team GB at the European Games in Poland last year as well as topping the podium at the recent World Aquatics Cup, which was an Olympic test event.

The Olympic Tech Duet session in Paris takes place on Friday 9 August, with the Free Duet final – when the medals are decided – the following day on Saturday 10 August. 

Kate and Izzy were named by the British Olympic Association today at the SEA LIFE London Aquarium.

On the prospect of a first Olympic appearance with spectators in the stands, Izzy said: “I’m so excited to have been selected for my second Olympic Games. 

“I’m really looking forward to swimming in front of lots of friends and family and hopefully making them and the country proud.”

Duet partner Kate added: “Being selected for Paris is so exciting! 

“There’s even more ‘fight’ going into it this time around because we already have the experience of Tokyo. 

“We are so excited to swim in front of our friends and family and feel them cheering us on loudly from the audience.”

Karen Thorpe, Aquatics GB artistic swimming manager, added: “We are very excited to be selected to go to the Olympic Games for the second time with Iz and Kate, especially following the recent success at the World Championships and World Cup.

“We feel this is putting us in a very strong position to be real medal contenders at the Games. 

“I think we can show the community and the country that there is an opportunity for people not just to run or swim fast, but also to be creative and be involved in a team sport – we are one of the only sports to be able to boast both those things.

“We obviously want to do a great performance while we’re out there and hopefully do the country proud. 

“I know that the athletes would like to inspire the next generation of artistic swimming athletes and showcase it out to increase the participation of boys and girls in the country in our sport.

“The dedication that Iz and Kate have shown, not just over the last four years but a full lifetime of work will hopefully be the biggest factor in our aim to bring those medals back from the Games.”

Mark England, Team GB Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, said: “Since Izzy and Kate made their Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, they have gone from strength to strength. 

“We were delighted to see them qualify for the Paris Games earlier this year in style, through winning GB’s first ever global duet medal in artistic swimming, with their World silver medal. 

“And to see them follow this up with gold at the recent test event is testament to the hard work and dedication they, and their team, have put in.”

Pictures: Team GB