A BEARSDEN woman admits she is going for Olympic gold next year after claiming a remarkable first place at an international triathlon series.
Beth Potter saw off all challengers as she won the World Triathlon Championships Finals in Spain on Sunday.
Beth’s victory at the event in Pontevedra also secured her place at next year's Olympic Games in Paris and she admitted she was overcome with emotion when she crossed the finishing line.
She said: “I was in disbelief, shock, relief.
“I felt like all the pressure had left me.
“It was so hard, tough, but I was really emotional at the finish. I’m still a bit shocked really.”
The 31-year-old trained out of Victoria Park in her younger running days before focusing on the longer distance discipline of athletics, representing Great Britain at the Rio Olympics in the 10,000m.
She then transitioned to triathlon in 2017 and moved to Leeds to train alongside Jonny and Alistair Brownlee, who have five Olympic medals between them.
Beth said of the veteran Olympians: “Both of them are really good friends and have really helped me.
“I moved in with Jonny when I first got to Leeds and Alistair is great as well, he’s always trying to help.
“We analyse my races and talk tactics.”
In 2018, Beth became the first Scottish athlete to compete across two sports at the same Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast, Australia.
These were her second Commonwealth Games after competing at her home games in Glasgow in 2014 in both the 5,000m and 10,000m.
Now Beth – who says her running is the strongest part of her triathlon – has her sights firmly locked on success in France in 2024.
“Yeah, it has given me confidence,” she added.
“I am definitely looking to get on the podium and eyeing up the gold medal.
“I’ve shown that I deserve to be there and deserve to be going into a race as one of the top-ranked athletes.
“But I’m not looking that far ahead, anything could happen between then and now.”
Beth is currently in Los Angeles where she will race again this weekend.
Prior to her amazing achievement in Spain, she won an Olympic test event in Paris in August.
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