Runners crowned 2024 World Athletes of the Year

Beth Potter ran the second-fastest road 5K ever at a race in Barrowford, Lancashire, on Saturday.
Stravas 2024 Year in Sport report is here.

For some, the Easter bank holiday weekend was about relaxing in the sunshine, for Beth Potter, it was a very different story. The 29-year-old ran the second-fastest road 5K ever by a female athlete, at a race in Barrowford, finishing in 14 minutes, 41 seconds. It might also be recognised as a world record, depending on World Athletics regulations on anti-doping, the accuracy of the course measurement and the size of the laps. Officials have begun the process of deciding if the time ought to be ratified.

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Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live after the event, Potter said, ‘It was really good to get a race in the early season but that was beyond my expectations.

‘It all started to sink in when I had about a kilometre to go and I saw the clock said 11 something and I was trying to do the maths in my head, I was convinced the clock was wrong, I couldn't believe it.'

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Only Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei has run faster; she clocked a time of 14:32 during a 10K race in Prague in 2017. However, 5K road racing has only been recognised as an official world record event since 2018. The current record is held by Beatrice Chepkoech, who ran 14:43 in February.

Potter competed in the 10,000m at the 2016 Rio Olympics before switching to triathlon. She won gold in the 2019 European Championships.

Runners crowned 2024 World Athletes of the Year.