Athletics-British triathlete Potter runs 5km in to-be-verified world record time

REUTERS: 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.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)