British world champion Beth Potter was relieved to take home an Olympic medal after taking bronze in the women’s triathlon behind local hero Cassandre Beaugrand.
Potter, who won the test competition in the streets of Paris last year, was one of the favorites for Olympic gold, but ultimately she could not keep up with the pace of the winner Beaugrand. Swiss rider Julie Derron came in second.
“Just relief,” Potter said when asked how she felt. “This day has been on the calendar for a long time and I’m over the moon to be going home with a medal.”
“I just knew I could last longer than anyone else. I had my sights set on gold, but I just wasn’t good enough today. I’m happy. Gold would have been great, but I got a medal.”
The women’s race was able to take place as planned after the water quality in the Seine was deemed safe for swimming. The delayed men’s race was rescheduled shortly afterwards.
Tokyo silver medallist Georgia Taylor-Brown finished sixth, while the third British athlete, Kate Waugh, finished 15th.
Finally, the organizers’ meeting early Wednesday morning brought good news: the river was reopened for swimming for the first time since flooding on Friday led to increased bacteria levels.
Rain continued to fall on Tuesday evening, but the skies cleared as the athletes jumped into the water beneath the Pont Alexandre III, with the Eiffel Tower providing the spectacular backdrop that had prompted the organisers to take such a big risk.
Potter shrugged off the water problems, saying she had “no problems” swimming in the Seine; the only real difficulty was the strong current.
Defending champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda, who was named a lady at the 2022 New York Honours following her triumph in Tokyo, took the lead early in the swim, but Potter and Taylor-Brown made sure she stayed close.
Potter came out of the water in fifth place, Taylor-Brown in tenth, and after Duffy was caught on the second lap, a leading group of ten riders formed on the bike.
Several riders slipped and fell on the wet streets of central Paris, but the leading riders all stayed upright for the 40 kilometers and then set off for the 10 km run.
The pace was enormous from the start and Taylor-Brown was one of those who could not keep up when a leading group of four riders formed.
Beaugrand, who lives and trains in Loughborough, launched her attack early in the final lap and Potter was unable to keep up. The British athlete also lost contact with Derron and often looked back at France’s Emma Lombardi just behind her.
But Potter persevered and won a medal, the third in a row for Great Britain in the women’s triathlon at the Olympic Games.
The Scot made her Olympic debut in triathlon, but had already run 10,000 metres on the track in Rio eight years ago before making the switch.
Potter trains with the Brownlee brothers in Leeds, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair was one of the spectators on the side of the road in Paris.
She praised their influence on her career, saying: “The Brownlees have been a huge part of my journey and they are the reason I got into triathlon. I train with Alistair every day and he is such a big part of my journey, and so is Jonny.
“I moved in with Jonny when I moved to Leeds. They are always the first to message me before and after races and they believe in me.”
It was disappointing for Taylor-Brown, who had overcome a calf injury in time to be included in the team, but was unable to add another medal to her silver medal in the individual event and the gold in the relay race in Tokyo.
“I’m disappointed not to take home a medal, but I always say I can only do my best and that’s exactly what I did,” she said.
“I just didn’t have anything today, I didn’t have anything on the run, which is a shame, of course. The timing for empty flights is not ideal, but that’s the way it is.”
