Live your dreams. That’s Andy Potts’ motto.

As an Olympic triathlete, Potts has dedicated his whole life to living out his Olympic dreams.

While triathlon was the sport that brought him to the 2004 Olympic Games, that wasn’t always the way he had pictured it.

“I always wanted to go to the Olympics as a swimmer,” said Potts.

For 17 years, Potts trained as a distance swimmer, logging hundreds of miles. Make that thousands of miles

As a member of the U.S. National team from 1995-1997 and the captain of the University of Michigan swim team from 1998-99, Potts was a six-time NCAA All-American. In 1996, he finished fourth at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 400IM behind swimming greats Tom Dolan and Eric Namesnik.

“I stopped swimming in 1999 and I went into coaching,” said Potts. “I was really happy with my swimming career; I took it as far as I thought I could take it and I was happy with that.”

But the thing about dreamers is they don’t easily forget their dreams.

After coaching, Potts spent the next two-and-a-half years working a corporate job and trying to move past his Olympic dreams. That is, until he saw triathlon debut in the 2000 Olympic Games.

“I thought, ‘That would be cool, but I don’t own a bike and these guys run pretty fast, so I probably couldn’t keep up,’” explained Potts. “I was weighing about 215 pounds, so I wasn’t really worried about it.”

It wasn’t until the summer of 2002 when Potts got fed up with his nine- to- five job and gave into the athletic bug that had been taunting and teasing him about the Olympics.

“If it [triathlon] wasn’t part of the Olympics, I wouldn’t be a part of the sport,” admitted Potts. “That’s for sure.”

So, in 2002, Potts turned in his suit and tie for a bicycle and running shoes.

“I didn’t need to go through the gauntlet of trying to establish myself as a professional,” said Potts. “I only needed to do about a third of the work because I had already proven myself as a national and world-caliber swimmer. “

So after barely 18 months in the sport, Potts finally did it – he qualified for the Olympic Games in triathlon.

“I broke down crying at the finish line,” said Potts. “I qualified at the World Championships, so it was a huge race and I performed well.”

Potts labeled that race as his break-through race. “It kind of put a stamp on the fact that I really have arrived as a triathlete,” he said.

Potts immediately called his wife from the finish line and said he was just blubbering on the phone. Because he was in Portugal, he had to settle for an e-mail to make the big announcement to his mom.

“While I was composing the e-mail, I was crying,” Potts said. “Tears were falling onto the keyboard. It was just a really powerful experience and it was a lot to process.”

For Potts, the Olympics were an experience of a lifetime. His dreams were finally coming true and he was able to share those with some of his biggest supporters.

“Part of my dreams are part of my parents’ dreams because parents live to watch their kids grow up and be happy and live their dreams,” Potts said.

It’s a testament to Potts’ character and drive that, with less than two years of training, Potts was able to accomplish his Olympic dream. He knows a big part of excelling at the international level was due to his past experiences of working hard and applying his drive and pension for pain to his new sport

“Working hard and working smart are the same in anything and everything you do,” explained Potts. “My body was able to remember those days in swimming when it was just me and the clock. I’m back to that now – it’s still me and the clock, but I’m also on my feet and on a bike now.”

Potts’ hard work hasn’t stopped paying him off as he recently won his first World Cup in Edmonton. He had been working towards a race where everything he had been training for came out in a single performance.

“I always knew I was capable of going out and winning a World Cup and being the best in the world on any given day,” said Potts. “It vindicated my hard work and let everybody else know that I am here to stay, I’m not going away and I am getting better. It couldn’t have come at a better time and a better place.”

Winning a World Cup is an honor in itself. But the title has an even sweeter ring when Potts became only the second American to earn it.

This gave Potts the opportunity to not only show the rest of the world what he was capable of, but he was also able to do it in front of his wife, Lisa, who is Canadian, her parents and some of their friends.

“We call ourselves team Potts – me and my wife,” boasted Potts. “She is my full-on support staff. She is there for me everyday doing things behind the scenes to make it so I can fully concentrate and, be borderline obsessive-compulsive about my training and about improving.”

Lisa is a former member of the Canada national gymnastics team and an acrobat for Cirque du Soleil’s ‘O’ show. In 2005, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is now in the midst of winning the uphill battle.

“Her sickness has made us grow as individuals but also grow as a couple and as Team Potts,” he said. “I really feel like she’s in my corner and I’m in her corner.”

Although she isn’t quite in remission, everything seems to be disappearing or shrinking, which is positive news for Team Potts.

Their support and encouragement for each other will be invaluable this year as she battles cancer and he fights for a spot on the podium.

When Potts looks to the end of this year, he hopes to establish himself as a threat in every race that he enters – whether it is a World Cup, a sprint triathlon or a half-ironman, he wants to be on that podium.

“My training and my focus for the year is all towards improving as a triathlete and developing the whole package as a triathlete,” Potts explained. “I want to become proficient in all the skills required of a triathlete.”

Of course, his ultimate training is leading him to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where he will certainly be a threat.

“Having gone through an Olympic experience already, I feel like I know a little more about how to control some of the erratic environments that surround the Olympics,” said Potts. “I’d go there with a real purpose of getting on the podium.”

For now, Potts will take it one step at a time and work towards his dream of medaling in the Olympic Games.

“Everything and anything I race I want to be a threat to get onto the podium and really challenge other athletes out there,” said Potts. “I want to get the most out of my body and mind on race day.”

Potts knows that by challenging his competitors, he is challenging himself and getting closer to accomplishing his dreams.

“Not many people in America can say they do what they love and they love what they do,” said Potts. “The people who are supporting me really see a lot of value in what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.”