- Shortman opens up about the physical and mental toll of artistic swimming
- The 22-year-old will begin her campaign, alongside teammate Thorpe, on Friday.
- British duo looking to improve on 14th place at Tokyo Games
Team GB artistic swimmer Kate Shortman has warned fans not to be fooled by her “fake” smile when competing as it hides the true “pain” of the sport.
The 22-year-old will begin her quest for gold on Friday evening alongside her close friend Isabelle Thorpe. Often, because of the athlete’s appearance, artistic swimming is not given the credit for its physical and mental demands.
Shortman is keen to set the record straight, explaining that beneath the water’s surface the sport is very different than its glamorous outfits suggest.
“I can’t stress enough how difficult this sport is,” he said. Sun“Because it’s so glamorous, we have our costumes on, it’s a distraction from the fact that this is a very, very difficult sport.
“We’re supposed to smile so the pain doesn’t show. The smile is fake.”
Kate Shortman has opened up about the physical and mental toll of artistic swimming ahead of the start of the artistic swimming competition.
Shortman and teammate Isabelle Thorpe won two silver medals at the European Swimming Championships in June.
Shortman and Thorpe are looking to improve on their performance in her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where they finished the competition in 14th place. At the 2023 European Games in Poland, the pair won a bronze in the freestyle duet, a first for Team GB.
Shortman then became the first British woman to win a world medal in artistic swimming, with a bronze in the women’s individual event at the 2023 World Championships, following a historic silver and bronze at the 2024 World Championships.
These successes have reinforced confidence that a gold medal in Paris is a realistic aspiration.
She added: “I think Olympic gold seemed almost out of reach before. It was more of a dream than a goal. Now we have our sights set on it and we are working as hard as we can to achieve it.”