Eli Hemming and Dominika Jamnicky came from behind to claim top honours in yesterday’s Camtri Sprint Triathlon American Cup in Hamilton.

American Hemming held off compatriot Jason West in an exciting sprint finish to take the men’s crown in an overall time of 55min 14sec.

Canadian Jamnicky won the women’s crown by a wider margin, crossing the line nearly 30 seconds ahead of second placed Kaitlin Donner in an overall time of 1:02.28.

Hemming, who hails from Colorado, posted the third-fastest time in the swim and was among a lead group of ten athletes at the end of the bike stage.

With the stage set for an intriguing finale, Hemming passed West on the final lap of the run and put just enough distance between himself and his fellow American to take the win.

“Jason went flying out of transition and I knew with the hills out there it would be pretty taxing, so I tried to hold back for the first half mile and slowly try and reel him back in,” Hemming said. “I sat on his shoulder pretty much to the last hill and figured it was all commitment from there and just went as hard as I could. I figured that was my last chance because I can’t kick, so I might as well kick from far out and it worked.”

Hemming was among a lead group of three that broke away on the bike stage, but were reeled back in by the group behind them.

“There were a few of us that tried to break and we got away for about 2½ laps,” he added. “But they eventually started working together and pulled us back. It was a hard race with how small the course was. It was pretty tight roads.”

Like Hemming, Jamnicky was also forced to work her way to the front after trailing early. She had the fourth-fastest swim, but surged ahead on the bike to hold a slight lead over compatriots Elisabeth Boutin and Emy Legault at the start of the run, which she maintained.

“I’ve really been practising going hard on my run, like going out hard out of transition and today was the perfect day to try to use that tactic,” Jamnicky said. “I knew the other two Canadian women [Legault and Boutin] were fast runners and obviously Kaitlin Donner from the US, so I really went out hard and tried to maintain that gap and just finish strong. My little gamble paid off today.”

Jamnicky was among a group of three riders that broke away for good on the bike.

“Our little breakaway worked to our advantage and I’m really happy that I had fellow Canadians [Legault and Boutin] to work with,” she said.