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Cape Town - The South African anthem rang triumphantly as Richard Murray led South Africa to first place at the Triathlon World Cup in the Cape Town leg on Saturday.
The men's elite sprint race was dominated by green and gold with Murray clinching first place despite a 10-second transition penalty.
He was followed closely by Olympic bronze medallist Henri Schoeman and Wian Sullwald in third.
Murray was unable to compete last year due to injury, and after two previous unsuccessful attempts at a podium finish for this race, he was thrilled with the win.
"An exciting first for South Africa to take one, two and three on the podium," said Murray.
The women's elite race ended in a nail biting finish, with a tenth of a second between Great Britain's highest ranked participants - Lucy Hall (first) and Jessica Learmonth (second).
They finished just under an hour at 59:34 and 59:35 respectively.
Hall said she looked forward to competing again soon in South Africa but "it would have to be a sprint race in conditions as hot as today's."
"There were perfect conditions for all those who took part today, and fantastic crowd support for the elites. Our South African athletes stepped up and made their country proud. It's been an exciting day from the first age group to the elite races," said race director Gary Marescia.
Women official results:
1. Lucy Hall (GBR) - 00:59:34.987
2. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) - 00:59:35.667
3. Ai Ueda (JPN) - 01:00:04.027
Men official results:
1. Richard Murray (RSA) - 00:51:33.573
2. Henri Schoeman (RSA) - 00:51:41.667
3. Wian Sullwald (RSA) - 00:51:56.660
