Shortman and Thorpe, who’re each from Bristol, have recognized one another since they had been little and have been swimming collectively because the age of 9.
Thorpe’s mum Karen competed alongside Shortman’s mom Maria within the Nineteen Eighties and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Shortman informed the BBC earlier this yr that she and Thorpe hoped to “keep it up the legacy” of their moms in Paris.
They haven’t solely completed that, but in addition made historical past.
Britain’s earlier greatest end in inventive swimming – previously synchronised swimming – was the fourth place achieved by Caroline Holmyard and Carolyn Wilson in Los Angeles in 1984, when the occasion made its Olympic debut.
Their Olympic medal has been brewing for some time, having turn out to be the primary Britons to win a duet medal on the World Championships earlier this yr – the place they took a silver and bronze.
Their rise has been helped by an overhaul of the game’s scoring system final yr, which made it much less subjective and performed extra to their technical strengths.
There are actually two judging panels, trying on the components of a routine and inventive impression, whereas the pairs declare the issue of their routine themselves earlier than swimming.
The earlier system had 15 judges who scored throughout each facet.
Shortman had thought-about quitting the game earlier than the change and the duo’s Rising Phoenix routine is a tribute to the scoring system change, which has now yielded the reward of an Olympic medal.
They aren’t positive how they’ll have a good time the success but, with Thorpe saying “it is all very overwhelming” in the intervening time, though she has managed to hug her mum already.
“Most likely simply stare on the medal, cry, contact the medal,” Shortman mentioned with fun.
