Australia and Britain triumphant at Wharf triathlon

Royle held off Jarrod Shoemaker from America and Britain's Aaron Harris in a close sprint finish in the men's category.

The Australian, who won his heat beforehand, lifted the trophy last won by his compatriot Brendan Sexton in the previous year.

After the race, Royle said: "Along the back straight I was a little bit worried that if they caught me there, I might not be able to hold on but once I got to that top corner, I was going to give it everything to make sure I could hold them off.

"The atmosphere has been great, this is my second year here, last year I got fourth and had a blast but to come back this year and win has topped it off."

Experienced runner-up Shoemaker, who performed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, said: "I had an awful first heat. I was on my own for a lot of it but I said to myself that it was just a warm-up.

"In the race, I wanted to go for it, have fun and be smart and it worked out great, the end was so close.

"I knew I was catching him (Aaron) but I knew he would go for it, so it was a lot of fun."

Crowds flocked to the Canary Wharf estate for the event, which is one of five in the British Triathlon Super Series.

It sees competitors complete a 400m swim in the dock opposite the Tube station, before cycling 9.8km and running 2.1km.

The Wharf event came just a month before the triathlon is performed at Hyde Park at the Olympics.

In the women's event Hewison beat fellow Brit Liz Blatchford and South African Gillian Sanders to the finishing line.

Afterwards Hewison from Lancashire said: "I am in shock. For me it was all about having the hardest swim that I could and if I am in the pack, I am a happy girl because I am a strong runner, that's my strength. I focused on running as hard as I could and when I got near I couldn't believe I was going to win.

"To race here with all the support is amazing there is a great atmosphere and to race in heats and then finals is something different too. It's all really fast."

Blatchford was leading after both the first and second transitions.

She said: "When I came out the swim and I was on my own on the bike I wasn't sure whether to go on my own or wait, but I decided to wait for the group and then go for the run. Katie is an amazing runner so I am not surprised she beat me as she is fantastic on the run.

"This race is so much fun, it really gets the adrenaline going and to race at this time of night is so different to what we are used to but I love it."

In the team event, GE Dream Team 3, recruited through Facebook, won in a fiercely contested race.

John Wood swam a strong first leg before Chris Newman put the team in front on the bike and Simon Jackson held off the challengers in the run.

LOCOG as second and GE Aviation came in third.

Wood said: "Fortunately I've swam in The Thames before so I wasn't too nervous. And being a team thing made me even less nervous as it was just good fun to compete with your mates and do it for other people.

"Chris was awesome on the bike, made it look easy and Simon brought it home; he flew."

For more information go to britishtriathlonsuperseries.com