Shortman and Thorpe have understandn each other since they were little and have been swimming together since the age of nine.
Thorpe’s mum Karen vied aextfinishedside Shortman’s mum, Maria, in the 1980s and slimly leave outed out on qualifying for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Shortman telderly the BBC earlier this year that she and Thorpe hoped to “carry on the legacy” of their mothers in Paris.
They have not only done that, but also made history.
Britain’s previous best finish in inventive swimming – establisherly synchronised swimming – was the fourth place achieved by Caroline Holmyard and Carolyn Wilson in Los Angeles in 1984, when the event made its Olympic debut.
Their Olympic medal has been bretriumphg for a while, having become the first Britons to triumph a duet medal at the World Championships earlier this year – where they took a silver and bronze.
Their ascfinish has been helped by an overhaul of the sport’s scoring system last year, which made it less subjective and take parted more to their technical strengths.
There are now two judging panels, seeing at the elements of a routine and inventive astonishion, while the pairs proclaim the difficulty of their routine themselves before swimming.
The previous system had 15 appraises who scored apass every aspect.
Shortman had pondered quitting the sport before the alter and her and Thorpe’s Rising Phoenix routine is a tribute to the scoring system alter, which has now createed the ultimate reward.
