John Dennen
Sports journalist
Watching Alistair Brownlee haul Jonny Brownlee across the finish line after he collapsed in a race inspired Beth Potter, then a teacher, to pursue triathlon; Potter is now the world champion and will represent GB at the Paris Olympics
Last Updated: 23/11/23 2:24pm
Beth Potter will represent Team GB at the Paris Olympics next year
Beth Potter will realise a remarkable transformation from full-time physics teacher to Olympic gold medal favourite when she lines up for Team GB at Paris 2024.
Potter and Alex Yee are the first confirmed members of Britain’s triathlon team for the next year’s Olympic Games.
Yee has already won silver and gold medals in the mixed relay and individual triathlon events at the Tokyo Games in 2021. But Potter is also a genuine contender after claiming the triathlon world title earlier this year.
Beth Potter (centre) has only been a triathlete for six years but is now world champion
“Being on top is great but then staying there is harder,” Potter said.
She added: “I believe that I’m one of the favourites. Ironically I feel like winning that title has taken the pressure off a bit, strangely. Just the fact that I know I can do that. I can perform on a particular day and across the season. I can do it. I’m good enough to do that.
“It has given me a stronger sense of confidence inside.”
Potter only converted to triathlon at a late stage in her athletic career. A physics teacher, she went to the Olympics in 2016 where she finished 34th in the 10,000 metres.
That experience changed her life in a way she didn’t expect. She met the triathlon coaches in a McDonald’s in Rio De Janeiro where she first discussed converting to the new sport.
But it was Alistair and Jonny Brownlee who really motivated her to make the switch, notably the famous moment when Alistair hauled his brother over the finish line of a race when Jonny collapsed during an event.
“I felt really inspired by Alistair picking him up, [and thought] I want to do that,” she said.
“It was just such a moment of sportsmanship and brotherly love. I want to do that. I want to train with these guys. How can I get there?
“I was in Rio watching them. I was sitting drinking out of a coconut watching on Copacabana so I was there and that’s where I met two of the coaches, in a McDonald’s in Rio and talked about the opportunity of coming up to Leeds. That’s where it sparked,” she continued.
Potter crosses the finish line to take title in Spain in September
She trains with and learns from the Brownlees still. “It’s very inspiring turning up to training and training alongside people who have been there and done that and got the T-shirt and the medals. I think that definitely helps and it helps to inspire people,” she said.
Consistency is the key lesson she’s learned from them. “Just turning up in all weather and just getting it done, getting the job done. They do it rain, wind, sun, they’re there training,” Potter said.
“I think if you have that consistency in training it feeds into consistency in races. I feel like that was starting to show through in my performances last year.”
It’s taken her all the way to, potentially, a starring role in the Olympics.
“There’s been a lot of help along the way from people who encouraged me to come to Leeds and believed in me back in 2017, to just my own attitudes. I’m a very determined person,” Potter said.
“I don’t like quitting, I don’t like giving up. It’s a really annoying trait to have sometimes. I think all those things have helped. Doing little things right every day. I love doing this and I’m so glad I gave up my job, even though it was a big risk at the time. I think it’s definitely paid off now.”
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The post Beth Potter: Inspired by Brownlee collapse the triathlete has gone from physics teacher to Olympic gold medal favourite appeared first on WorldNewsEra.