Ashley Couper completed a clean sweep of national championships with victory in the women’s Olympic distance triathlon at Clearwater Beach on Sunday.

After previously winning the Liberty Mutual Sprint Triathlon Championship in June, Couper again reigned supreme after coming out on top of a hard-fought tussle with Karen Smith in a small but highly competitive women’s field.

Smith led from the water after the 1,500 metres swim with Couper passing her nearest rival on the 40-kilometre bike course before holding off Smith on the 10km run in sweltering conditions to claim victory. Louise Wells rounded out the podium places.

“I’m really happy,” Couper said. “The swim was a bit choppy so for me and it was a case of surviving that because it’s not my strongest discipline. I knew Karen would be some way ahead of me out of the water.

“I knew my best chance of catching her would be on the bike, although she’s a very strong cyclist as well. I finally caught her near the end of the bike and then just managed to hold on during the run, which was just brutal.

“I knew Karen was right behind me going out on the run and so as we turned each lap I just looked to see if I was pulling away at all.

“Although we were missing some competitors such as Maddie Durkin, it was still was a strong women’s field.

“It’s a shame more people were not out competing, but it’s always nice to have your name on the title for year.”

Meanwhile, a magnanimous Smith spoke of her surprise about being in contention as she reflected on the challenging conditions.

“I wouldn’t say I was ever really battling with Ashley, it was more just a case of keeping going and trying to finish the race,” she said.

“I was really surprised to come out of the water first because you don’t always know where you are in the swim. I’m a solid swimmer, but I wouldn’t say I’m the strongest so that was a bit of a surprise.

“The bike was OK, but the run was really tough with very little shade and the hills really really took a toll.

“It was all about survival today and anyone who managed to finish should be really proud of that accomplishment because it was a real tough one out there.”

There was also title triumph for Stephen Smith, who produced a dominant display among the men’s field.

After exiting the water among the leaders, Smith quickly set about putting distance between himself and the rest of the field on the bike before crossing the line comfortably ahead of his nearest male rivals Jeremy Shrubb.

“It’s always a proud moment to win a national championships,” Smith said.

“I haven’t had the best summer of training, but I decided to sign up yesterday and it turned out well.

“The swim was actually pretty tough, but thankfully I’m strong on the bike so I was able to give myself a good lead and then it was a case of trying to stay ahead of Ashley [Couper] who was the best runner among the entire field.

“I just tried to block out the heat and humidity and just keep running. Thankfully I managed to cross that line first.”