Dew was the first female to cross the line, coming home in a time of two hours, five minutes and 26 seconds, almost five minutes ahead of her nearest opponent in Kirsten Norden.

In winning, she also claimed the Victorian under-23 state title.

With Torquay triathlete Chad Anderson already winning the men’s race, the pair from the coast took out both of yesterday’s events.

In her first season in the elite category after progressing through the junior ranks, the 21-year-old was almost two minutes behind Norden after the swim leg, but soon eliminated the margin.

“I was second coming out of the water and I knew I had a bit of time to pull back,” she said.

“I’ve been working hard on the bike all winter and knew it was my strongest leg so it was just a matter of doing it properly out on the road.”

She made up almost five minutes on the bike and then extended her lead by more than a minute on the run leg.

“It’s a fantastic result for me, I’m pretty stoked about it,” said Dew.

Dew has been in hot form, finishing second in the first stage of the Gatorade Triathlon Series last weekend.

It was the first time she had swum in Lake Wendouree and hoped to compete in the event again next year.

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