Beth Potter bids for second world triathlon title in Australia
Beth Potter says she feels less pressure this year as she tries to win her second world triathlon title on Sunday.
The British Olympic bronze medalist is joint leader with reigning champion Cassandre Beaugrand of France ahead of the final in Australia.
Potter acknowledged preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the event itself took its toll.
“I was going in as one of the favorites for the Olympic gold medal and one day there was a lot of pressure and expectation around that,” the 33-year-old Scottish triathlete said.
“It was really hard and last year I felt like I could never get into my groove.
“When I got off the bike I had a hard time feeling like I was running and it was really frustrating because there was no reason for that because it wasn’t like that in training.
“It just shows how much pressure I put on myself to win a medal that year. I don’t think I ever dug that deep in that Olympic race to get that medal, and getting that bronze medal meant a lot to me.”
He won the World Triathlon Championship Series from Beaugrand in 2023 before the roles reversed last year.
Potter tried a new coaching system this year, spending nearly a month at altitude in the Swiss Alpine resort of St Moritz.
“I didn’t find any part of my running easy last year, and it was the one thing I always relied on to get me out of trouble in races. It took me longer than I thought to recover from that Olympic race,” he said.
“To even enjoy doing triathlons again, it took me a few months to get back into the new season and think that I really wanted to be on the starting line and enjoy the race. It was quite difficult for me as this is my job and my livelihood.”
“It took me a while to get used to a new workout at the beginning of the year, and part of that was mentally getting through the load that last year had put on my mind and body. I’m really enjoying new training methods and trying something a little different. This is the lowest risk year to try things.”
Potter is tied with Olympic champion Beaugrand on 2,925 points but insists Sunday’s final at Wollangong “is not a two-horse race.
In Australia, with 1,250 points offered to the winner, there is more than a 200 point gap to the chasing pack led by Jeanne Lehair ahead of Lisa Tertsch and Leonie Periault.
The Scot will compete in the 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run to be cheered on by many family members, including his two aunts who live nearby.
