Beth Potter cried every day after making the switch from athletics to triathlon but she now stands on the brink of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
The 31-year-old Scot won the Games test event in the French capital last month and a top-three finish at the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Spain on Sunday would see her meet the selection criteria for the British team.
Whether she qualifies this weekend or not, there seems little doubt Potter will be part of the British line-up next summer, joining a notable list of athletes who have competed at the Olympics in two different sports.
It was after using her summer holidays from her day job as a physics teacher to race in the 10,000 metres in Rio in 2016 that Potter decided to throw her eggs in the triathlon basket.
“I think I probably had doubts until last year,” she told the PA news agency.
“It’s been really hard. I think those around me, the guys I train with, my boyfriend and my mum and dad, will know how hard it’s been. Even that first year I was in Leeds I probably spent every day pretty upset and wondering whether I’d made the right choice. I think I probably cried every day.”
Potter used family motivation to keep her going, saying: “I always did know it was never going to happen overnight, these things never do, it always takes four or five years.
“It was in line with my sister finishing her medical degree in Sheffield. I gave myself until then, if I’m not making a living out of it by then or things are just not going how I thought they would then I’ll probably just quit and go back to the day job. Luckily I beat her to that. She’s just finished her training.”
Potter grew up doing swimming alongside her athletics but she was a cycling novice when she made the transition to triathlon aged 25.
“It’s not as easy to pick up skills like that as an adult because you have the fear, you know what’s going to happen if you come off,” she said. “It’s not like a kid where you just bounce off the ground. You know you’re going to hurt yourself.
“There was just a lot of doubt. I found that quite hard, constantly trying to believe in myself and constantly be like, it is going to work, I’m just not quite there yet. Getting to grips with a completely different sport.
“It was a very steep learning curve. Getting thrown into the world series and drowning, basically, way out of my depth. There was one way that I could race. If I had an easy swim and an easy bike then that would be fine.
“The way racing has been the last couple of years it’s not been ideal for me but now I’ve got my bike and my swim up to those levels, I’m trying to turn myself into an all-round athlete that can win from any position.
“It’s been quite good this year how I’ve managed to win and get on the podium in different events and in different race scenarios.”
Potter has put together a brilliant 2023 campaign, winning world series races in Abu Dhabi and Montreal and then getting the better of big French rival Cassandre Beaugrand in a head-to-head finish at the test event.
A repeat in Pontevedra would see the winner crowned world champion, although Potter’s main target remains booking her spot in Paris.
“My goal at the start of the season was to qualify for the Olympics,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to be in the running for the world title. I knew I could be up there but I didn’t expect it to come down to the wire.
“It’s a bit of a chicken and egg where I think if I just focus on doing the little things right, I’ll probably get the Olympic qualification and finish wherever on the podium.”
Olympic silver medallist Alex Yee is in the running for the men’s title having also won the test event, and the British team look well positioned to continue their brilliant run of success in the sport next summer.
Potter is currently the leading woman in the absence of the injured Georgia Taylor-Brown, individual silver medallist in Tokyo, and her gold medal-winning mixed relay team-mate Jess Learmonth, who recently gave birth to her first child.
Potter praised the coaches in Leeds who have kept the faith through the last six years that her move to triathlon would pay off.
“They’ve stuck by me through thick and thin so I owe it to them because they believed when I was nothing,” she said. “They can see a reward now hopefully. It was a bit bonkers to do it but I definitely think it’s been the right decision.”
Scotland fans criticise Euro 2024 ‘shambles’ as ticket sales are postponed
Scotland fan groups have criticised a Euro 2024 ticket “shambles” which delayed the start of the controversial sales process to official supporter club members.
Up to 10,000 members of the Scottish Football Association’s Scotland Supporters Club were due to start buying tickets for the three group games at noon on Wednesday but a blunder forced a late postponement.
The SFA blamed a “technical error” after many fans were sent access codes for the UEFA ticket portal despite having less than the 12 SSC loyalty points required to take part in the first sales window.
The Tartan Army were still reeling from the sobering impact of ticket prices of up to 600 euros (about £514) for the opening match with Germany when the sale was called off less than an hour before it was due to start.
Many SSC members were already unhappy that those with the most points have not been given the opportunity to buy the less expensive tickets first.
The sale is now due to start at noon on Thursday and is open to all members with 12 or more points.
A statement from the Association of Tartan Army Clubs read: “Today should have been a day of celebration for the Tartan Army getting their hands on a ticket for the upcoming Euros. The reality is that it has turned in to a shambles.
“We are extremely disappointed and concerned that there was no supporter consultation in advance of the ticket sale schedule and methodology. The opportunity was there.
“Additionally, we would have expected the SFA to have consulted with other participating nations in order to identify best practice. This was a serious failing.”
The group said it had been highlighting what other countries were doing to sell tickets to supporters following a Fan Embassy workshop in Hamburg.
SSC members were later sent another email telling them that new access codes would be sent out on Thursday morning ahead of the noon start.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the unfortunate technical issue that delayed today’s sale of UEFA Euro 2024 tickets,” the supporters club email added.
Although members with at least 12 points are guaranteed tickets for games against Germany, Hungary and Switzerland, fans had been gearing up to apply at noon in a bid to get the less expensive tickets.
UEFA has allocated 10,000 tickets to fans of each nation for each game in the tournament.
However, the tickets vary in price and the opening match against Germany in Munich on June 14 comes at a huge premium.
Tickets range from 50 to 600 euros for the game, which makes them significantly more expensive than all the other group stage matches.
Only about 3,000 tickets are available to Scotland fans at the lower rate, with 3,435 tickets costing 195 euros. The next 2,541 fans will have to pay 400 euros and more than 1,000 supporters face paying 600 euros to get in.
Euro 2024 ticket delay for Scotland fans after technical error
Scotland fans have suffered more frustration in the process of buying Euro 2024 tickets after a blunder delayed the much-awaited start of the sale.
The Tartan Army were still reeling from the sobering impact of the ticket prices for the opening match with Germany following the high of Saturday’s draw, when the sale was called off less than an hour before it was due to start at noon on Wednesday.
Scotland Supporters Club members with 12 or more loyalty points were due to be sent codes to use on UEFA’s ticket portal on the morning of the sale but too many received it.
An email to fans read: “Due to a technical error, UEFA EURO 2024 codes have been sent out to Scotland Supporters Club members who are not eligible to buy tickets at this stage.
“As a result of this error, the sale scheduled for 12 noon will be delayed until further notice while we liaise with UEFA to resolve the issue.
“The Scottish FA would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to supporters at this time. We will communicate further information on the sales schedule as soon it is available.”
Members with 12 points were due to get a 24-hour period to purchase tickets before the offer is extended to those on 11 points but fans had been gearing up to apply at noon in a bid to get the less expensive tickets.
UEFA has allocated 10,000 tickets to fans of each nation for each game in the tournament.
However, the tickets vary in price and the opening match against Germany in Munich on June 14 comes at a huge premium.
Tickets range from 50 to 600 euros for the game, which makes them significantly more expensive than all the other group stage matches.
Only about 3,000 tickets are available to Scotland fans at the lower rate, with 3,435 tickets costing 195 euros. The next 2,541 fans will have to pay 400 euros and more than 1,000 supporters face paying 600 euros (about £514) to get in.
Beth Mead: England ‘devastated’ to miss Nations League finals and Paris Olympics
England forward Beth Mead said the team were “absolutely devastated” after missing out on the Nations League finals and failing to qualify for the Olympics for Team GB.
A dramatic evening saw England thrash Scotland 6-0 at Hampden Park, with Lucy Bronze’s stoppage-time header looking like it would be the crucial goal for the Lionesses to finish top of Group A1.
However, a late added-time brace from Damaris Egurrola meant the Netherlands pipped Sarina Wiegman’s team to the summit on goal difference, ending Team GB’s hopes of qualifying for Paris 2024 and ensuring the Dutch reached the inaugural Nations League finals.
Making her first international start since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury more than 12 months ago, Mead bagged one of the six England goals, but acknowledged it was tough losing out by “small margins”.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t in our hands and the Netherlands got the four goals,” she told englandfootball.com. “Congratulations to them but we’re absolutely devastated to miss out by such small margins.
“We made sure we kept in communication and Sarina was telling us what was happening in the other game so we knew what we were meant to do.
“We got the late goal and we thought we’d maybe got over the line but, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and that’s football. It is small margins, there were injury-time goals in both games and it wasn’t meant to be.”
European champions England lost out narrowly to the Netherlands and Belgium in their group games, going down 2-1 to the Dutch in September before a late Tessa Wullaert penalty saw Belgium win 3-2 in October.
The Lionesses had kept their qualification hopes alive going into the Scotland game as Ella Toone’s stoppage-time strike secured a 3-2 comeback triumph over the Netherlands in the reverse fixture at Wembley on Friday.
“It’s a tough one,” Mead added. “I think the girls have worked really hard. I thought we were incredible this camp.
“We’ve done ourselves proud in both games that we’ve played. Unfortunately, it was out of our hands and maybe we let ourselves down earlier on in the competition.
“But we’ll keep working hard, we’ll keep coming back stronger, and I’m excited to see what this team is about.”
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