Beth Potter sets new world best time for 5K

The 29-year-old switched from track and field to triathlon four years ago with the aim of making the Tokyo Olympic team.

But while cycling and swimming now form part of her regime, she showed she has lost none of her athletic ability at the Podium 5K event in Barrowford in Lancashire on Saturday.

Potter clocked a remarkable 14 minutes 41 seconds to in the Podium 5k event in Barrowford – to break the World and British record times for the distance on the road.

Beth’s time eclipsed the 14:43 posted by Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkeoch as the global mark and the 14:51 held by Paula Radcliffe as the British Record.

However the former British 10,000m champion and Commonwealth Games finalist will have to wait and see if the performance is ratified as an official world record, with some doubts expressed over licensing and drug testing post-event.

Whether she receives official ratification or not, Beth was delighted with her run . . . and admitted afterwards she thought the clock was too fast.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Chris Warburton: “That was beyond my expectations. I was being given kilometre splits so I knew they were fast but it only really started to sink in when I had about a kilometre to go and I saw the clock.

"I was trying to do the maths in my head and I was convinced the clock was wrong. I couldn't believe it."