Performance of the Year (Elite): Beth Potter

12th Dec 2024 | Written by Pamela Sneddon

Beth Potter is your 2024 Triathlon Scotland Award winner for the Performance of the Year Award (Elite).

Starting her sporting life as a national level swimmer before focusing on athletics at university, and representing Great Britain in athletics at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Summer Olympics, Beth Potter is a great example of how an athlete can transfer to another sport and be exceptionally successful.

After a chance meeting with Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, who encouraged her to try triathlon, Beth picked up her bike and goggles, along with her running shoes, and has gone from strength to strength. Within a year of taking up triathlon, she was on the top step of a triathlon podium at the 2017 Funchal ETU Sprint Triathlon Cup, before making history in 2018 by becoming the first Scottish athlete to compete across two sports at the same Commonwealth Games.

As well as medaling at no less than 12 World Triathlon Championships since 2022, Beth’s most successful year has been 2024, where she has raced her way onto the podium three times in three different formats. The first being the E World Triathlon Championships where the format blends real life and virtual racing. Three heats of a pool swim, bike on a turbo, and treadmill run determine those that go through to the final. The short distances and repetitive heats demand both speed and endurance, and Beth demonstrated beautifully her ability to combine the two to take the top spot for 2024.

The second format was the Olympic distance triathlon, an endurance race where the athletes’ grit and determination are really put to the test. The 2024 Paris Olympics course was not for the faint-hearted, with a swim in the fast-flowing current of the Seine, cycling on the cobbled streets of Paris, and running in the summer heat. Beth showcased her amazing stamina to claim a bronze Olympic medal.

The third format was the mixed team relay, where two male and two female athletes each complete a shorter distance triathlon before tagging their teammate who completes the same course. Again, the 2024 Paris Olympic course was tough, but Beth showed her adaptability and incredible capacity to recover from the individual event just a few days before to claim, with her team, another bronze Olympic medal.

Beth’s performances this year have been outstanding and inspirational for all involved in the sport.

Beth Potter’s major results in 2024: