Shortman and Thorpe have known each other since childhood and have been swimming together since they were nine years old.

Thorpe’s mother Karen competed alongside Shortman’s mother Maria in the 1980s and narrowly missed qualifying for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Shortman told the BBC earlier this year that she and Thorpe hoped to “continue the legacy” of their mothers in Paris.

Not only did they do that, they also made history.

Britain’s best ever result in synchronised swimming – formerly known as synchronised swimming – was fourth place, achieved by Caroline Holmyard and Carolyn Wilson in Los Angeles in 1984, when the discipline made its Olympic debut.

Their Olympic medal has been in the works for some time, after they became the first British team to win a medal in the duet at the World Championships earlier this year, where they took silver and bronze.

Her rise was helped by an overhaul of the points system last year, which became less subjective and took more account of her technical strengths.

There are now two judging panels that look at the elements of a freestyle routine and an artistic impression, while the couples themselves announce the level of difficulty of their freestyle routine before swimming.

The previous system had 15 judges evaluating all aspects.

Shortman had considered quitting the sport before the change, and her and Thorpe’s “Rising Phoenix” routine is a tribute to the change in the points system that has now brought the ultimate reward.