With Simons' partner Nick North pulling well clear of the field on his way towards victory the battle for second was a far more intense one.

Simons had the women's long course victory well and truly wrapped up by the time she had even got on the bike but the even sweeter prize of second overall was there for the taking.

The pair still raced at a strong tempo, instead of just watching for moves, as they put on an entertaining show in the battle for the runner-up spot.

They were still only separated by mere metres coming into the run for home but Hanrahan dropped back over last 50 metres as Simons took the silver.

Simons completed the 500m swim, 17km ride and 5km run in a time of 55:39, eight seconds clear of Hanrahan.

Her splits were eight minutes flat for the swim, 24:32 for the bike and 21:24 for the run.

Simons said it's a rare treat to have someone to battle against throughout a race.

"It was really awesome to be able to race. Coming off the bike and having someone to run against was really cool because that doesn't often happen," Simons said.

"We were taking turns on the front through the bike, which meant that we could push each other and make sure the pace stayed high.

"On the run we were both probably wanting to slow up a bit but we weren't sure who was going to do it so it just progressively got faster and faster.

It's not every day that a couple can also lay claim to locking out the top two spots in a race.

"To come second behind Nick is pretty awesome," Simons said.

"Doing that was just the cherry on top."

The battle for to fill the rest of the women's long course podium was a closer fought fight.

Tania Pringle's (1:16:48) strong swim and run legs allowed her to safely hold onto second place, while Madhu Tamilarasan's (1:19:07) fast effort on the bike wasn't quite enough to make up the distance.

Anna Blackie (1:20:09) wasn't far off the podium after making good time on the run.