BETH Potter made worldwide headlines when she unofficially ran the fastest 5k time ever recored in 2021.
The triathlete was back in action at Paris 2024, where won bronze for Team GB.
Who is Beth Potter?
Beth Potter is former physics teacher and triathlete.
In April 2021, she made worldwide headlines when she ran an unofficial world record time of 14.41 in the 5k at a road event in Barrowford, Lancashire.
Beth went on to win three gold medals and a silver in her next four World Cups, with a first WTCS podium coming in Montreal in 2022.
But her best season came in 2023, starting with a win in Abu Dhabi and followed by victories in Montreal and the Paris Test Event.
Then an outstanding victory at the Championship Finals in Pontevedra, Spain secured her the 2023 world title.
That victory also meant she was the first female triathlete selected to represent Team GB at Paris 2024, giving Beth her first shot at Olympic triathlon gold.
On July 31 at the Paris Olympics, she won bronze after the triathlon got the green light that very morning — following the River Seine passing water quality tests.
What sport does Team GB’s Beth Potter compete in?
Before switching to triathlon, Beth’s professional athletics background was in swimming and running, having represented Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the 10,000m track event.
Around the time of the Games in Brazil, she quit her teaching job to concentrate on her athletics career.
Beth switched over to triathlon after watching Alistair Brownlee carry his brother Jonny over the finish line when he collapsed in a race, which inspired her to move from athletics to triathlon.
She told the Guardian in November 2023 she also swapped events because of her desire to win: “I love winning, and I didn’t want to just take part.
“I want to be on the top step. I want to be on the podium. And I just didn’t think it was possible on the track.”
She then moved to Leeds to train with the Brownlee brothers, earning a first World Cup podium on a difficult Antwerp course in 2018, which was followed by the European title a year later.
Her aim was to compete at Tokyo 2020, but she was overlooked for Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jess Learmonth and Vicky Holland — Britain’s three women’s picks for the Games.
Where is Beth Potter from?
Beth was born on December 27, 1991 in Glasgow, Scotland.
She comes from a sporting family — her father Alex is a competitive runner, while her sister Sarah is an athletics coach.
From a young age she swam competitively for Bearsden and Milngavie and ran for Victoria Park Glasgow — the club where her father still competes.
In February 2017, she told MailOnline: “When I come home, we go out running as a family. It is something we have always done.
“There is a hill that stretches up to our house and I generally keep my pace to a level where my dad can keep up with me. But he always tries to overtake me on the hill.
“I kind of tease him by letting him think he can beat me and then I sprint away.”
Is Beth Potter competing in the Paris Olympics?
Beth was named as the first female triathlete selected to represent Team GB at Paris 2024, along with Georgia Taylor-Brown and Kate Waugh.
Potter said: “Paris will be my first games as a triathlete, and I am looking forward to it,
“This year has been tough to get the results I needed to qualify so I am looking forward to a bit of a mini break before getting back into training with my full focus being on Paris.”
When did Beth Potter compete in the Paris Olympics?
The Games officially kicked off on Friday, July 26.
It culminates with the closing ceremony on Sunday, August 11.
Beth competed in the women’s individual triathlon on Wednesday, July 31 as part of Day 5 of the Olympics.