Beth Potter revealed a foot injury had hampered her build up to the WTCS Grand Final in Wollongong, a race she had hoped would end with a second world title but instead finished with her in the medical tent.
Germany’s Lisa Tertsch produced the race of her life to take the victory and a first world title, as pre-race favourites Potter and France’s Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand saw their challenges unravel on the run.
For much of the day it had looked like a straight duel between that pair before the race was turned on its head on the run.
When the race turned
After a fast swim and a well-organised front pack on the bike, six women started the 10km run together – Potter, Beaugrand, Tertsch, Bianca Seregni, Emma Lombardi and Jess Fullagar.
Beaugrand was the first to falter, losing touch early on lap one, her title hopes slipping away as the others pressed on. But midway through the downhill section of Flagstaff Hill, Potter too was suddenly off the pace.
That left Tertsch to seize the moment. Knowing a top-two finish would be now be enough for the title, she attacked regardless, pulling clear of Seregni to win both the race and the Championship. Potter faded to 16th, more than two minutes adrift while Beaugrand did not finish.
Potter: “Not the dream ending to the 2025 season”
Posting after the race on Instagram, the 2023 champion Potter was open about her struggles on the day and the injury that disrupted her build-up.
She said: “Not the dream ending to the 2025 season for me. Felt really flat today and ended up in the medical tent, a first for me. After finding some great form in the last eight weeks unfortunately I picked up a foot injury off the back of Weihai which really hampered this block of training.”
WTCS Weihai had been her second win in succession and looked to have set her up perfectly for a title tilt on a hilly run course which would normally play to her strengths.
She added that it had been a difficult few weeks but paid tribute to her team and supporters: “Thank you to those around me in Oz who kept me positive and my coaches back home. Thank you to everyone who cheered today, you really got me to the finish line when I thought I had no more.”
And she also has plenty to look forward to, despite the setback, adding: “Finishing 3rd in the world and definitely still hungry for more. Congrats Lisa and Leonie and a special mention to Emma Lombardi for a podium in the race today. Back to Scotland to get hitched.”
Potter’s third place in the final WTCS standings underlined another consistent and high-class campaign for the Brit, who won WTCS Karlovy Vary as well as Weihai in what was a relatively light schedule the year after two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics last summer.
