TRI, TRI AGAIN
Beth’s all set for two triathlons and the 10,000m in the space of five stamina-sapping days
YOU might not be able to change the laws of physics – but you can rewrite history.
That’s why Beth Potter chucked teaching one to chase the other.
The 27-year-old will become the first Scottish athlete to compete in two different sports at the Commonwealth Games.
It leaves her with the most arduous schedule of any athlete in the entire Gold Coast field – the individual triathlon, team triathlon and then the 10,000 metres on the athletics track, all within five leg-numbing days.
But the Glasgow-born, Leeds-based machine in human form is determined she can upset the odds after her talent transfer between track and tri.
Finishing fifth and ninth in the 5000/10,000 double in the Glasgow Games four years ago, she raced in the Rio Olympics over the same distance.
However, brave Beth gave up the security of her high school science department at the end of last year to chase her new challenge in the triathlon.
And she said: “Everyone thinks I’m a bit mental doing the double. And it IS tough.
“It’s a huge task but it’s an honour to pull on the Scotland kit and particularly to be the first person to do it. And I’ve not made history before.
“I was a physics teacher in Richmond, London. It was a bit daunting to give that up. I had no job security after that.
“And I still love teaching – it’s just not for me just now.
“So I resigned my job last November and moved to Leeds with the triathlon squad in January, so I was literally thrown in at the deep end.
“After Rio, that was when I wanted to do it, I had a bit of time off work and really thought about what I wanted to do.
“I just decided I didn’t want to go back to teaching. It was the best decision I’ve made.”
Whether Potter’s thinking that come Monday night is another matter.
Before then she’ll have done the individual triathlon – the first event of the Games, kicking off just after midnight on Thursday night back home – which consists of a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run.
She’ll follow that on Saturday in the team event, a quickfire sprint format that involves two men and two women racing 250m, 7km and 1.5km.
And she’ll finish up in the Carrara Stadium on Monday night in the Final of the 10,000m alongside Eilish McColgan.
With a charming line in understatement, Beth said: “It is going to be quite challenging on the body.
“Last year after the World Championships on the track I did a triathlon six days later and that wasn’t pretty. I’m hoping this time round it should be better because doing a track race is harder on the legs.”
Potter has to do the hard yards herself – but she has had some high-profile help in the disciplines along the way.
She said: “I come from a swimming background, then the running just took off. I used to swim with MNB in Glasgow and I actually have four other team-mates from back then who are here in Australia with Team Scotland although we are all doing different sports.
“Jack Thorpe and Calum Tait are in the swimming and Katie and John Archibald in the cycling. We all used to train and play together.
“That’s a pretty good turnout from one swimming club!
“And the Archibalds have helped me a lot with the cycling, which is probably my weakest discipline.”