Wikipedia

Andy Potts

Andrew Robert Potts (born December 28, 1976) is a triathlete from the United States.[1] He competed in triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics and is the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion.[2][3] Prior to triathlon, Potts was a swimmer where he won the bronze medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the 1995 Summer Universiade[4] and earned a spot on the USA Swimming national team where he would place fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400 IM.[5]

Andy Potts
Andy Potts at 2013 Ironman 70.3 Eagleman
Personal information
Born (1976-12-28) December 28, 1976 (age 47)
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportTriathlon
EventTriathlon
Medal record
Men's Swimming
Summer Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Fukuoka 400m Medley
Men's triathlon
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Ironman World Championship 70.3
Gold medal – first place 2007 Individual

Personal

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Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Potts graduated from Princeton High School in 1995.[6]

While attending school at Michigan, Potts met his future wife, Lisa Simes, who was a member of the University of Michigan gymnastics teams. Simes was an acrobat for the Cirque du Soleil show, O, in Las Vegas.[7] The two married on June 30, 2004. They have a son, Boston Thomas Potts and a daughter, Sloane Potts.[8]

Career

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Potts graduated from the University of Michigan in 2000 with a B.A. in English and a secondary teaching certificate. At Michigan, he swam for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team from 1995 to 1999, serving as team captain for the 1998–99 season. Potts was a six-time NCAA All-American swimmer while at Michigan and a two-time Big 10 individual champion. He was also a member of the Michigan track team in 1999–2000.[9]

2003-2006

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Potts began competing as a professional triathlete in 2003 and was named USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year. He was also the only athlete to break into the Top 100 World Rankings as a rookie.[10] Potts competed at the second Olympic triathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics after only participating in the sport of triathlon for 22 months.[11] He placed twenty-second with a total time of 1:55:36.47.[2] In 2005 and 2006, Potts competed in a variety ITU Triathlon World Cup races, accumulating a number of top three podium finishes and finished out the 2006 year ranked third in the world.[12][13] Potts was recognized as USAT Triathlete of The Year in 2006.[14]

2007-2009

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In 2007, Potts won the triathlon event at the 2007 Pan American Games.[15] Later that year, Potts would win the 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, Florida, with a time of 3:42:33.[16] On June 27, 2010, Potts captured his first career Ironman Triathlon win in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with a winning time of 8:24:40.[17] His best finish at the Ironman World Championship is a 7th-place finish at the 2009 Championships.[18] He was recognized again as USAT Triathlete of The Year in 2007 and 2008.[14]

2010-2011

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After finishing the swim in 2nd place, Potts took the lead on the bike and finished Ironman Coeur d'Alene with a strong 1st-place finish.[19] In the fall, he set a new course record at Ironman Cozumel with a 2:52:19 marathon, the fastest time of the day.[20] Andy Potts earned victories at Ironman 70.3 New Orleans and Ironman 70.3 Boulder, and at Ironman 70.3 Timberman, he earned his third victory in as many attempts.[21][22][23]

In 2011 Potts had several successful performances at the half-ironman distance, including first-place finishes at Ironman 70.3 Florida, Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, and Ironman 70.3 Vineman.[24][25][26] He also earned victories at Philadelphia Triathlon and CapTex Triathlon in Austin, TX.[27][28]

2012-2016

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In 2012, Andy Potts won the Ironman 70.3 California triathlon in Oceanside, CA for the fourth time. Later that year, Potts took first in Ironman 70.3 St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Potts is considered the winningest male ever to compete in the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon, after having won the event for the 5th time in June 2012. Later in the year, Potts also won Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman 70.3, and Ironman 70.3 Branson. In 2012, he accomplished his best performance to date at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii with a 7th-place finish as the first American.[29][30]

Potts, in 2013, won the Ironman 70.3 California triathlon in Oceanside, CA for the fifth time, edging out Jesse Thomas by 10 seconds. Potts also took first in Ironman 70.3 Eagleman, in Cambridge Maryland. Potts was the first repeat winner at Ironman Lake Placid, winning by 5 minutes over Daniel Fontana. The next year Potts won the Ironman Coeur d'Alene 140.6 On June 29, with a time of 8:25:44, edging Viktor Zyemtsev by less than three minutes. He finished fourth at the 2014 Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI on October 10, 2014 in a time of 08:21:38.

Potts began the 2015 season at the inaugural Challenge Dubai with a 12th-place finish, which was a result of a penalty that occurred during the bike leg. At Ironman Oceanside 70.3, Potts earned a silver medal finishing 2nd to the reigning Oceanside champion Jan Frodeno. Potts has since put together 1st, 2nd, 1st-place finishes at New Orleans 70.3, Texas 70.3, and Chattanooga 70.3 respectively. Potts won the Ironman Coeur d'Alene 140.6 on June 28, with a time of 8:20:35.

In 2016, Potts won the Ironman Canada 140.6 on July 24, with a time of 8:20:23.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Cohen, Arianne (September 20, 2008). "The Making of an Olympian". Popular Science. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Triathlon - Men Results". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "World Championship 70.3 2007 Results". World Triathlon Corporation. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  4. ^ "400-Meter Individual Medley Results". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  5. ^ "Andy Potts gets a second chance". Slowtwitch.com. June 17, 2003. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  6. ^ Alden, Bill (July 21, 2004). "PHS Alum Potts Finds Direction In Triathlon; Now Aims to Soar at Athens Summer Games". Town Topics. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  7. ^ "Artist Information: Lisa Simes". Cirque Tribune. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ Rohan, Tim (June 23, 2011). "Swimmer diversifies into Olympic triathlete". Philly.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  10. ^ "Andy Potts Bio". NBC Universal. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  11. ^ Rohan, Tom (June 29, 2011). "Potts found new adventure in triathlon competition". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  12. ^ "Andy Potts Results". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  13. ^ "Andy Potts Bio". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Andy Potts - USAT Athlete Profile". USA Triathlon. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Davies, Gareth (July 15, 2007). "Potts wins PanAm Games". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  16. ^ "World Championship 70.3". World Triathlon Corporation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  17. ^ "Ironman Coeur d'Alene Results Book" (PDF). Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  18. ^ "World Championship 2008 Results". World Triathlon Corporation. Archived from the original on November 20, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  19. ^ Carlson, Timothy (June 27, 2010). "Potts, Corbin tops at IM CDA". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Krabel, Herbert (November 28, 2010). "Potts, van Vlerken take Cozumel". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  21. ^ Krabel, Herbert (April 18, 2010). "Potts and Warriner rule NOLA". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  22. ^ "ROHTO Boulder 70.3 winner". Slowtwitch.com. August 9, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  23. ^ Krabel, Herbert (August 24, 2010). "2010 Timberman 70.3". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  24. ^ Carlson, Timothy (May 15, 2011). "Potts, Snow take Florida 70.3". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  25. ^ Carlson, Timothy (April 2, 2011). "Potts, Carfrae take Oceanside". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  26. ^ Carlson, Timothy (June 17, 2011). "Potts, Rollison take Vineman 70.3". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  27. ^ Krabel, Herbert (June 26, 2011). "A 2011 Philly Tri gallery". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  28. ^ Empfield, Dan (May 30, 2011). "It's Potts and Haskins in Austin". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  29. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. ^ Krabel, Herbert (October 28, 2012). "Potts, McBride take 70.3 Austin". Slowtwitch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  31. ^ "Ironman Canada Results". www.ironman.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016.
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