THE speed of Beth Potter’s rise through the triathlon ranks has been nothing short of astonishing. And the 26-year-old will take another significant leap forward in her fledgling career when she lines up on the start line of the European Triathlon Championships, which are a part of Glasgow 2018 which begins in less than two weeks time.

Potter famously made her name on the track as one of Britain’s best 10,000m runners but it has been her switch to triathlon at the tail-end of 2016 that really caught people’s attention. There are always sceptics when elite athletes change disciplines but Potter has confounded every one of them, establishing herself as one of Britain’s top triathletes, which was proven by her selection for Glasgow 2018.

Her inclusion in the GB team is well deserved having made her first real mark on the international scene with a second place finish at the World Cup event in Antwerp last month. Potter finished behind America’s Summer Cook, who is a multiple World Cup winner, and the Scot admitted that result gave her self-belief a significant boost.

“Getting on the podium there was a real breakthrough for me because it was a really good field,” the Leeds-based Glaswegian said.

“I raced my first World Cup at the start of the year and these girls finished in front of me so to beat them in Antwerp was really nice. It was good to be racing the same people and to be able to compare myself to them again so to come away with a podium spot was great.

“I thought beforehand if I did everything right in the race and things went my way, I could get a good result but there’s so many things that can go wrong in triathlon so for everything to come together like it did was a massive confidence boost.”

Potter is displaying remarkable consistency for someone who is such a recent recruit to triathlon - her most recent result was a 19th place finish in yesterday’s European Sprint Triathlon Championships - with the most encouraging aspect being that she feels she is constantly improving. The run has, clearly, always been her strong point but she continues to make significant gains in the water and on the bike.

“I’m still on an upward curve, although it’s probably not quite as steep as it was right at the start,” she said.

“I’m definitely finding my legs more going from the bike to the run and that’s a big thing for me because that’s something I really struggled with. Everyone says the more efficient I become on the bike, the better my running will be and that makes sense. I’ve only been doing it a year and a half so I don’t quite have the cycling legs yet. But I’ve got the running legs and they were pretty hard to get so that’s a positive.”

Potter may be on the crest of a wave but that doesn’t mean she is immune to a bout of nerves. Glasgow 2018 will be her first Olympic distance triathlon and while she might be brimming with confidence, she is in no doubt she will be outside her comfort zone at Strathclyde Park.

“It’s really exciting although I’m pretty nervous about it,” she said.

“It’s a really strong field but it’ll be good have home advantage and it’s good to challenge myself and put myself up against the best because that’s where I want to be.

“As long as I do everything to the best of my ability then I’ll be pleased - and if I swim well, I ride well and I run well and then you never know, my race could really come together.

“There’s no pressure on me and when you’re in that position, that’s when athletes perform their best. So I’m just going to go in there with an open mind and really get stuck in.”