Olympian Potts Wins Ford Ironman 70.3 California

Matthew Dale profiles the men's winner from Oceanside

Andy Potts sampled a potpourri of jobs after an All-American swimming career at the University of Michigan. He helped a family friend build a house, worked as a bouncer at a bar, painted houses, moved furniture, and naturally, coached swimmers.

But the absolute worst was when Potts knotted up the tie and went corporate, working in payroll services for a company outside Chicago. We're talking cubicle, headset, cold-calling and a one-way, one-hour commute, hopping two buses and two trains.

The guy with the athletic identity watched his V-shaped physique go pear-like, his weight ballooning from 183 pounds to 218.

“My physical outlet was flag football and pickup hoops,” Potts recalled. “I slowly became unhappy with the direction of my life.”

Just before the summer of 2002, Potts ditched the payroll services job, sampled a triathlon and two years later was lining up at Athens, representing the United States in the Olympics. While his focus is still the Olympic distance – Potts finished 2006 third in the ITU World Cup standings – the guy is blessed with the potential to go long.

He has sampled two 70.3 races, finishing second at the Ford Ironman 70.3 California last year, then winning last week’s event in Oceanside.

As to how Potts transitioned from dissatisfied, soul-searching, post-college employee to Olympic athlete, you have to analyze his makeup. He’s competitive, confident bordering on cocky, glib and thanks to a wife who’s thus far winning a battle with cancer, appreciative of all things large and small.

After saying adios to the sales job, Potts headed to Colorado where his parents live, hiked one of the Rocky Mountains' 14,000-foot peaks, started doing some cycling and entered a sprint-distance triathlon.

He finished 28th among the age-groupers then decided, “This is it. I'm going to be a professional. I'm going to make the Olympics.”

Potts got in touch with USA Triathlon's program director and announced, “I'm going to be on the national team. What do I need to do?”

When the director asked Potts about his qualifications, Potts nonchalantly replied, “I did a sprint triathlon once.”

Before labeling Potts egocentric, realize he had competed at the world-class level in swimming, placing fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400 m individual medley. The Americans who placed one-two at the Trials went on to bring home gold and silver in Sydney.

Later in the summer of 2002, Potts finished third among amateurs at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minnesota and ran a 32-minute 10K. That was enough to convince USA Triathlon to invite him to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a six-week tryout. The guy hasn't left since.

Potts was first out of the water at the 2004 Olympics, finishing 22nd, impressive for a guy barely in the sport for two years. He now owns two World Cup victories. The only other American male with a win on the ITU circuit: Hunter Kemper.

Potts' confidence is matched by a keen competitiveness. Raised in Princeton, N.J., by an emergency-room physician father and a mother who taught middle school, Potts grew up motivated to achieve. His junior swim coach would send the charges out for a 20-minute warmup run, 10 minutes out, 10 minutes back. Potts not only wanted to run out the farthest, but beat his teammates back to the pool.

“If it's a game, if it's anything,” Potts said, “I wanted to win.”

That triathlon's order of events goes swim-bike-run plays to Potts' advantage. Assertive by nature, Potts typically swims to the front, maintains an aggressive pace on the bike, then holds on for the run. Translated, he revels in putting the pressure on his rivals.

“I feel if I'm strong enough to be in the lead, they've gotta chase me down,” Potts said. “Come get me if you can.”

Confidence obviously isn’t an issue. “Swimming’s my strong suit,” he said. “But my cycling and running are 1B.”

At Oceanside he came out of the harbor with a two-minute cushion, aided not only by his swim, but because the trailing pack veered off course not once but twice.

“We can thank Bryan Rhodes for steering us off course,” said Luke Bell.

Rhodes' wandering ways or not, Potts wasn't to be denied.

“He was the best guy today,” said third-place finisher Lewis Elliot. “Period, exclamation point. No question about that.”

Triathletes – elite athletes in all three disciplines – are renowned for their ability to withstand pain, and Potts derives satisfaction from his front-runner fashion.

“I don't know if it's a flawed philosophy, but being a front-runner is hard to do,” he said. “But it's also way more rewarding at the end of the day. For me, not only did I take your best shot, but I put myself out there from the start. My biggest thing is I want to see if I can beat you on your best day. There's a lot more satisfaction and gratification I get out of that.”

As for racing long, Potts accepted his spot at the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship next November, but it'll be two years, at the earliest, before he focuses on anything longer than the Olympics’ 1.5-kilometer swim, 40K bike and 10K run.

“As soon as I can't put out the type of speed and power I'm capable of achieving at the Olympic distance, then it'll be time to look down the road,” he said.

Potts can put sport in its perspective. His wife, Lisa, discovered a lump just below her jaw in 2004. She has undergone radiation and two surgeries to remove seven tumors, her thyroid and reduce four tumors in her lungs. Tests have been negative for more than a year, but she won’t be considered cancer free for another five years. Doctors gave the couple the OK to try to have a baby, and the family’s are expecting its first child next month.

“She is where I get all of my inspiration,” Potts said, “and she is why I never forget how fortunate I am to do what I do.”

You can reach Matthew Dale at mdale@ironman.com.