Search
shop

‘A big improvement’: Potter pleased with Commonwealths boost

Scot looking forward to Birmingham after getting back in the mix at Leeds WTCS event
Last updated -
STRENGTH. ENDURANCE. PERFORMANCE.

Beth Potter hopes her Leeds WTCS form can provide a springboard towards Commonwealth Games success.

Potter, who won the Arena Games overall title in early May, came fifth in Saturday’s race at Roundhay Park where a strong finish saw her end up just 10 seconds behind runner-up Georgia Taylor-Brown.

And having had her training interrupted by illness, this performance was just what the 30-year-old Scot needed ahead of her third Commonwealth Games appearance in Birmingham at the end of July.

Advertisement

Third time lucky?

She said: “That’s my highest position in the World Series and that was a strong field, so I’m happy with that.

“This is my third Commonwealth Games. I’m not sure it will top Glasgow for me – or maybe it will?

“It feels like a home Games, even though Glasgow was very much home for me.”

Potter added: “I needed another 10 metres there at the end, but it’s a big improvement for me over [the WTCS race in] Yokohama.

Beth Potter Arena Games Triathlon Finals Singapore
Potter landed the Arena Games title in Singapore [Photo credit: Super League Triathlon]

“I wasn’t very well going into it and then for two weeks afterwards, so I’m glad just to be here and back to where I was before.

“I had a stomach bug, so I have had that doubt in my head since Yokohama, but I feel like that’s a performance I can be pretty proud of.”

Clear focus

Having been a track athlete at Glasgow 2014 and then combining that with triathlon at Gold Coast 2018, Potter has since focused on the swim, bike, run discipline to great effect.

Considering her build-up to Leeds had not been perfect, Potter’s battling display bodes well for Birmingham.

She said: “The swim was quite rough, but I just tried to stay calm. I could see the front of the race and I felt like I was quite smooth.

“I really just tried to focus on that initial part of the bike and I feel like I hit all my process goals.

“I positioned really well. That was one thing I was really focusing on.

“I was probably a bit tentative before, but I was present there in the group. I’m happy with it.

I just wanted to work hard on the bike and be at the front of the bike group and not hide at the back.

“On the run, it was quite close at the end, I wasn’t far off at the finish. I just needed 10 metres on that downhill, but maybe I mistimed my effort? I don’t know. I gave it everything.”

Reflecting on the home support in Leeds, Potter, who lives in the city, added: “That definitely helped.

“I actually didn’t spot anyone I knew in the crowd. There are lots of people I know here, but I was just very focused and trying to pick them off.”

Written by
Ed Mezzetti
Discover more
Challenge The Championship Marjolaine Pieree
How to qualify for Challenge The Championship – and why it should be on your triathlon bucket list
Cadomotus aero triathlon cycling shoes
Can your triathlon cycling shoes make you faster? How shoe choice could speed up your triathlon finish times
French Riviera T100 bike course Esterel
Is this the ultimate middle distance triathlon bike course? We rode the French Riviera T100 bike course and it’s EPIC
Ironman gear guide – everything you need to get to the finish line of a full distance triathlon
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
latest News
The PTO's CEO Sam Renouf
PTO reveal ambitions of matching Roth and Kona as French Riviera T100 triathlon course details unveiled
Sam Long St George 2024 photo credit Getty Images for IRONMAN
‘No No No’ – Sam Long says he felt ROBBED by swim cancellation at ‘69.1 Chattanooga’
IRONMAN World Championship 2024 Nice Age Group Swim Start
IRONMAN to review World Championship slot allocation model after fears raised for Age Group women
Jonny Brownlee / Jonathan Brownlee - Super League Triathlon London 2023
Did the Brownlee brothers nearly join pro cycling’s Team Sky after 2012 Olympic heroics?
Kristian Hogenhaug interviewed after The Championship 2025
Danish triathlon star highlights blistering bike split as key to The Championship success.
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...