The 24-year-old completed the 500 metre swim, 20km bike and 5km run in a record time of 54.31. He was the popular elect going into the race and won like a favourite should. Newcastle veteran Tim Lang continued his strong form at Crowdy to finish second in 57.07 with Hayden Smith from Forster-Tuncurry third in 57.51.

Beau Harper was the best of the Manning contingent in the race, finishing fourth in 58.31.

Katie Jones (no relation to Harry), from Forster was the first woman home in what was a closely contested event, finishing in 1.07.39. A strong run saw her pull clear of second placed Darlene Cheney, who clocked 1.08.45. The pair had a great battle throughout the race. Katie Jones was 22^nd overall.

Hayden Smith, who is training for the world ironman triathlon in Hawaii later this year, led the field out of the choppy surf, showcasing his body surfing skills when he caught a wave to grab the lead from Raea Khan. Jones said later he was disappointed with his swim, but he was still in third place going into the bike leg.

Here Jones showed his dominance, grabbing the lead early in the ride and pulling away from the field. At the completion of the first lap Jones was more than two minutes clear of the chasing group and only mishap or injury was going to stop him from there.

Jones increased his lead in the second lap and his time for the bike was 29.42. But while first place had been all-but-decided, there was plenty of competition for the minor placings going into the run, with Lang, fellow Novocastrian Nathan Stewart, Khan, Harper and Smith all in contention.

Jones completed the 5km run in 18.01 and moments after crossing the line looked fresh enough to do it all again.

He has previously raced at Crowdy Head but this was his first win.

The race was organised by Forster Tri Club and attracted nearly 80 starters, slightly less than anticipated.