Beth Potter produced a run masterclass to win WTCS Samarkand at the weekend – but revealed afterwards that was the discipline she was most worried about ahead of her season opener.
A foot issue over winter had limited training – at least from a run perspective – but in the event she clocked the fastest 10km time to see off Leonie Periault in a see-saw finish.
Periault had recently run a 1:09 half marathon in Berlin and the two of them were way ahead of their rivals on the run but it was Potter’s kick in the closing stages which won the day.
Run form a bonus
Speaking afterwards, she said: “I’m just really happy. It was very, very interrupted winter with my foot injury off the back last season, and, I think everyone else believed in me more than I did today.
“So on that last lap, I just gave it everything. And to come away with the win, I’m just kind of speechless.
“I’ve been swimming and biking really well. It was the run that I was concerned about, to be honest. I’ve only done two months of sessions and I missed a huge chunk before Christmas. So, I was really hoping that swimming / bike would put me in a good position but I worked hard and I got into the fun group and just had good legs.”
‘I doubted myself so many times’
Potter worked brilliantly with fellow Brit Jess Fullagar to make up plenty of ground on the bike after they lost nearly a minute on the swim.
And she added: “Yeah, I got really lucky. My teammate Jess was there and whenever I see her wheel, I’m like, yes, that’s a good wheel to be on!
“So we kind of pulled turns and I always thought we’d catch [the front group]. We could see them and we were motivated to work.”
It was the perfect start to 2026, especially coming after a tough end to 2025 when she dropped out of contention late in the WTCS Grand Final in Wollongong: “Yeah, Wollongong was a hard one to swallow, but coming back here and taking the win, I’m very happy.”
She later posted on Instagram: “It’s been a bumpy road and I doubted myself so many times. Grateful to my people for getting me here.”
Next up for Potter is WTCS Yokohama on 16 May but French duo Periault and Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand, who missed Samarkand through illness, aren’t currently on the start list.
