British triathlete Beth Potter runs 5km in to-be-verified world record time
ByReuters
Updated 04/04/2021 at 15:55 GMT
Beth Potter smashed Paula Radcliffe’s British record on the road over 5000m – and may yet have a world record if ratified by World Athletics. Potter competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics before switching to triathlon. Potter has not been selected for Tokyo 2020 in the triathlon, but the athletics squad is yet to be announced.
Beth Potter
Image credit: Getty Images
British triathlete Beth Potter clocked a time of 14 minutes and 41 seconds in a low-key 5km road race in Barrowford, England on Saturday, a time that will set a new world record if ratified by global athletics officials.
Whether the 29-year-old's time is ratified by World Athletics will depend on a variety of factors, such as the presence of anti-doping officers at the event, the size of laps and the accuracy of the course measurement.
Potter's previous best for the distance was 15:24, set at a similar event last August.
Wearing new running shoes developed by Japan's Asics, Potter took advantage of still conditions on a flat course to surpass Beatrice Chepkoech's official world record of 14:43 by a couple of seconds, and also shave 10 seconds off Paula Radcliffe's British record of 14:51.
The time by Potter, who competed at the 2016 Olympics and won gold at the 2019 European Championships, is the second-fastest on the road by a female athlete after Joyciline Jepkosgei clocked 14:32 for the distance during a 10km race in Prague in 2017, before 5km road racing was recognised as an official world record event in 2018.
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