Kate Shortman books place in solo technical final at World Championships

Kate Shortman booked her place in the solo technical final on the opening day of the FINA World Championships.

She finished 10th in the preliminary round at the Yeomju Gymnasium, Gwangju, South Korea, with a score of 83.4981.

It was just shy of the personal best of 84.2507 she set in the recent European Junior Championships in Prague.

But she will go into the final on Saturday 13 July full of confidence after a remarkable year that has seen her impress on the junior and senior international stage.

Karen Thorpe, Swim England National Synchro Manager, said: “It was a great day at the pool for us.

“I thought Kate would qualify for the finals but we were really pleased with her result. Although she was a bit nervous, she’ll be able to get out there with confidence for the final.”

Duet narrowly miss out

Meanwhile, Shortman also competed in the preliminary round of the duet technical alongside Isabelle Thorpe on the opening day of the contest.

They missed out on a final place by the narrowest of margins as they finished in 14th place with a total of 83.5904 – 0.8711 behind the USA, who took the last qualifying place on 84.4615.

Shortman and Thorpe’s score was an improvement on the total of 82.4323 in the European Junior Championships that saw them agonisingly finish in fourth place.

A total of 45 teams had entered the preliminary round and with Shortman and Thorpe swimming 11th, they were forced to wait some time before discovering their fate.

Karen added: “Kate and Isabelle are still the youngest competitors in the event but showed maturity, experience and great determination throughout their swim.

“This was the first time they had swam a technical duet in a senior World Championships.

“Although they were disappointed to just miss out on 12th place and reach the final, we are pleased with the progress and the development they are making.

“They are feeling fit, strong and are ready for the next event.”

The duet will next be in action on Tuesday 16 July when the free preliminary round takes place.

Picture: GBSynchro Instagram