Swim England Artistic Swimming

The home of artistic swimming in England

Kate Shortman wins FINA Artistic Swimming World Series solo bronze

Kate Shortman has won her first FINA Artistic Swimming World Series solo medal at the eighth leg of the competition in Barcelona.

She claimed the bronze medal in the solo technical routine at the Piscina Sant Jordi pool.

And her ‘amazing achievement’ is the perfect platform for Shortman as she now looks to make an impact at the Junior European Championships later this month.

Shortman was third behind Spain’s Ona Carbonell and Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina in a field of 13 swimmers.

It is the second FINA Artistic Swimming World Series medal Shortman has won this year after helping the Great Britain team win a free combination silver in Paris.

Karen Thorpe, Swim England Talent Manager for Synchro, said Shortman’s success would be a confidence booster ahead of a busy few weeks.

She added: “This is an amazing achievement for Kate and GB Synchro.

“As far as I can remember, this is the first solo medal at an international competition at this standard for GB.

“This will prepare Kate well as we head into the Junior European Championships in Prague in two weeks’ time and then for her to go forward in the World Championships in Gwangju in July.”

Duo impress once again

Shortman then teamed up with Isabelle Thorpe for the technical duet competition and the duo once again impressed.

Karen said: “They put on a near faultless performance against some of the main synchro nations.

“This duet are going from strength to strength and are chasing for a place in the final at the World Championships.

“It was the first time they had competed against the USA and Mexico since their debut in the 2017 World Championships.

“At that time, they were beaten by several marks but now they sat 0.005 behind the USA and one point behind the Mexicans, although they beat them on element marks.”

Team improve on performance

The Great Britain technical team were also in action and improved on their performance in the LEN European Cup in Russia.

It was only the second time this season they had swam the routine and they took eighth place with a score of 79.

Karen said: “The team were technically stronger and sharper than the swim in Russia and we are delighted with the improvement.

“They showed a very clean swim with good technical elements.”

Top