Beth Potter

Early life

Potter was born in Scotland and grew up in Bearsden, where she ran for Victoria Park Glasgow. Her father, Alex, is also a competitive runner and her sister, Sarah, is a running coach. At a young age Potter was a competitive swimmer. She attended Loughborough University. Potter moved to London for postgraduate training at Saint Mary's University.

Running career

Potter began competing as a runner in 2004. In 2008, she placed first at the Scottish Under-15 Championships in cross country and in the 1500m distance in track. She finished 36th in Under 20 cross-country at the World Championships in 2010.

Coming back from an injury, Potter placed 18th at the under 23 European Championships in 2013. Potter began training with coach Mick Woods who convinced her not to quit running. Potter was more successful in 2014 competing at the senior level, representing Scotland at Glasgow where she finished 9th in the 5,000m and 5th at the 10,000m distance. The next year she had a disappointing 2015 season due to illness.

Potter qualified to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She secured her place qualifying as the second British woman in the women's 10,000m behind Jess Andrews. Leading up to the Olympics, Potter trained with fellow Scot Steph Twell. Potter also worked with a sports psychologist weekly in an effort to overcome her difficulty managing stress. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the women's 10,000 metres, finishing 34th.

Teaching career

In addition to training as a runner, as of 2016 Potter also teaches physics in west London.