Leading Australian triathlete Melissa Hauschildt has returned to racing with a convincing win at the national long-course championships.
Hauschildt blitzed a strong field in Geelong after nearly a year of injury problems.
Rising star Jake Montgomery had his first big win in the men's race, while four-time Geelong winner Craig Alexander had to pull out because of mechanical problems on the bike.
Hauschildt has not raced since last March, when she overcame blisters and cramps to win the now-defunct Ironman Asia-Pacific championships.
She was supposed to make her much-anticipated debut last October at the Hawaiian Ironman world championships, but was forced to sit out the race.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
On Sunday she trailed by two minutes 45 seconds after the 1.9km swim, but Hauschildt took control on the 90km bike and pulled away further on the 21.1km half marathon run.
Hauschildt won in a course-record four hours 14 minutes 28 seconds, but said it was not easy.
That was a hard win, I felt average all day, it was almost like I had a cramp from the start of the swim, she said.
Compatriot Annabel Luxford, aiming for three-straight Ironman 70.3 wins, was second in 4:20:15 and Czech Radka Vodickova clocked 4:21:49 for third.
After two second placings in domestic 70.3s late last year, Montgomery joined fellow Australian Josh Amberger in taking control during the bike.
They broke the bike course record by more than two minutes.
Montgomery went clear on the run to win in 3:51:48, while Cyril Viennot of France overtook Amberger for second place with 3:53:14.
Amberger clocked 3:54:17 for third.
