Bath sporting scholar Kate Shortman officially selected in Team GB artistic swimming squad for Paris 2024 Olympic Games
University of Bath sporting scholar Kate Shortman has today been officially selected to represent Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer.
It will be a second Games for artistic swimmer Shortman and duet partner Izzy Thorpe, following their debuts at Tokyo 2020, and they will head to Paris this August after winning multiple breakthrough medals during the past 12 months.
The duo, who train in Bristol, achieved the Paris qualification standard in February by winning Britain’s first-ever Duet medals at a World Championships, silver in the Technical routine and bronze in the Free. Shortman and Thorpe followed that up by winning World Cup Technical gold earlier this month at an official Paris 2024 Test Event in the new Olympic Aquatics Centre.
Shortman, who studies International Management and Modern Languages (French) at the University and is supported by a Bill Whiteley Scholarship, said: “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.”
Shortman is the second current University of Bath sporting scholar to be officially selected for Paris 2024, joining marathon swimmer Leah Crisp – an Economics and Mathematics student and Santander scholar – in the Team GB squad.
Also going to Paris is Tom Dean, who – like Shortman – was supported by a Bill Whiteley Scholarship when he famously won double gold in the pool at Tokyo 2020. Joining him in the swimming squad are Freya Anderson, Kieran Bird and Jacob Whittle, who train with the Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, and University of Bath Swimming Club’s Ben Proud.
Official selection comes just days after Shortman, Thorpe and Artistic Swimming Manager Karen Thorpe were invited to meet His Majesty King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
View this post on Instagram
The Paris 2024 Duet competitions will take place on Friday 9th August (Technical) and Saturday 10th August (Free).
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. 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.”
Find out more about how University of Bath sporting scholarships support high-performing student-athletes by visiting teambath.com/scholarships.
