She outgunned Tamara Jewett in their hotly-anticipated duel on the run leg, finishing 50 seconds ahead of her Canadian rival in a time of 4:17.30.

She said: “I had a good swim; I was a bit cautious on the bike and had a solid run. It was great to come out here and compete against these super strong girls.

“It is actually my first IRONMAN 70.3 race of the season, the last one I did was over six months ago, so it’s been a while. Now I feel like my season has finally started and has kicked off in a good way.”

Further down the field there was also an impressive performance by Kate Curran, who was joint-leader following the swim and eventually finished in seventh. 

There was also a sixth-place finish for Jack Hutchens in the men’s race, with Thomas Davis coming home in 13th.

At IRONMAN 70.3 Kraichgau, Lucy Charles-Barclay finished in second place after deciding last-minute to travel and compete.

Charles-Barclay experienced visa issues in the lead-up to the race but made the start line on Saturday and returned with a silver medal.

And it was not just a successful day for her as fellow Brit Nikki Bartlett joined her in the top five, coming home in fourth place.

Elsewhere, Lydia Dant dominated the field to defend her title at IRONMAN 70.3 Lanzarote. 

The British star took victory in a stunning IRONMAN debut last year and produced a dominant performance on her return to the venue.

Dant established a lead group of three on the swim and extended her lead to 15 minutes at one stage, taking a comfortable victory. 

She is the 10th British woman to win the race since 2008, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bella Bayliss, Lucy Gossage and Charles-Barclay. 

Rebecca Anderbury finished tenth at IRONMAN Chattanooga, exactly 15 minutes behind winner Paula Findlay of Canada. 

Meanwhile there were three British athletes in the top ten of both the men’s and women’s races at Challenge ‘The Championships’ Samorin. 

India Lee, seventh at the PTO European Open, claimed a brilliant victory in a time of 3:58:29. 

Lucy Byram and Fenella Langridge finished sixth and seventh respectively. 

The Brits were closely grouped in the men’s race too, Tom Bishop taking fifth, David McNamee sixth and Kieran Lindars eighth, while Harry Palmer finished just outside the top ten in 12th. 

Will Draper took fifth at Challenge St Polten, with Kit Walker lower down the field in 15th.