The Artistic Swimming event at the 2023 European Games in Oswiciem saw the GB pair impress but fail to win the qualification spot for the Olympics.
The European Games is the main European qualifier, but the team spot went to Olympic hosts France. So would the duet spot, apart from the fact teams automatically qualify duets, meaning that the spot could be contested among other nations. The top team on combined score in the technical and free routines (separate medal events for the European Games) would qualify for Paris.
Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe managed fifth with a score of 242.9967 in the duet, with 31.550 for difficulty, 144.8967 for execution, and 98.1000 for artistic impression, minus 3.9 penalties. In the free event, there was qualification: Shortman and Thrope managed fifth with 207.0023 (29.800 difficulty, 118.8523 execution, and 88.1500 artistic impression, minus 1.7 penalties), putting them well clear of the Danes in 13th (125.3958).
In the final, Shortman and Thorpe were third with 223.5084 (34.500 difficulty, 135.9584 execution, 87.5500 artistic impression, minus 3.4 penalties). A bronze medal was a brilliant achievement, something that wouldn’t seem possible for British artistic swimming in the past.
However, it was not enough for the spot: the Austrian pair won gold in both events and took the quota place.
Ten teams will qualify, five at continental championships (including the French spot) and five at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha (QAT). These ten teams will qualify a duet spot, plus the five continental winners, and three more at the Worlds in Doha. If the top team had already qualified, then the spot passes on based on score at the European Games. GB were third best behind Austria and Ukraine, so it’s not impossible this will be good enough for a spot after all.
GB Games 