2022 Commonwealth Games News – Beth Potter selected for Team Scotland
With under 200 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Beth Potter has been named as the first triathlete to be selected to represent Team Scotland Triathlon.
Potter’s nomination was an easy one to make having meet the selection standard of two top-eight finishes in World Triathlon Championships Series having come 7th in both the Leeds and Abu Dhabi events.
No one can doubt the credential of the Scottish lassie following her end of season back-to-back wins in the 2021 World Triathlon Cup events in South Korea,
Of course, many will know Beth Potter for her running prowess have represented Great Britain in the 10,000m at the Rio 2016 Olympics before switching to triathlon, winning gold at the 2019 European Championships.
She quit her job as a physics teacher to train full time with Jonny and Alistair Brownlee in Yorkshire after making the move to triathlon four years ago, Potter had hoped to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but she missed out on selection with the team for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games having already been selected at the end of 2019.
Nonetheless, that did not stop her from hitting the headlines in April 2021, running an unofficial world-record beating 5k time of 14:41 at an event in Lancashire (which I was privileged to witness).
This will be a third Commonwealth Games appearance for the 29-year-old, having competed in Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018. In Glasgow she finished 5th in the 10,000m and at Gold Coast Games, Beth then went on to became the first athlete to compete in two sports for Team Scotland at a single Games, competing in the Triathlon individual event and team relay, before going on to compete in Athletics in the 10,000m.
Listen to Beth speaking to the TriNation Podcast Team about making the switch from pro running to pro triathlon and how it’s taken four years to fully make the transition. She also shared details on her plans to reach the next Commonwealth Games as well as the Paris Olympics in 2024:
Beth Potter Chats to the TriNation Podcast Team
Beth is clearly an athlete in form and Triathlon is now her priority having recently been announced on the UK Sport Lottery Funded World Class Performance Programme for 2022. Her sights will be firmly on taking home a gold for Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, and being 15th in World Rankings, this is not a feat beyond her capabilities. She will also be aware that a good showing at the 2022 Games will put her on the selection radar for a GB spot at the Paris Olympic 2024.
