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AAP
AAP
Roger Vaughan

Parker wins again, Gentle second at Wollongong worlds

Ashleigh Gentle laps up the local support as she finishes second in the Wollongong T100 triathlon. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Australian Paralympic star Lauren Parker has won again and compatriot Ashleigh Gentle finished second in the  T100 tour event at the world triathlon championships in Wollongong.

On the eve of compatriot Matt Hauser's big race, Parker claimed her fifth paratriathlon world title.

She is the reigning Australian Paralympian of the year after winning gold in paratriathlon and paracycling at last year's Paris Games.

Australia's Ashleigh Gentle receives warm support
Australia's Ashleigh Gentle receives plenty of encouragement during her running leg. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

"It's so special to get my fifth world title here in my home country and with my family and friends and team around me," Parker said.

" I always put pressure on myself, I guess. I feel like I thrive with pressure, like it helps me out there on course when I've got a bit of pressure and it's all put on by me."

As Parker continued her domination of the women's wheelchair category, Anu Francis also won the PTS2 world title. 

Competitors leave the water in the men's T100
Competitors leave the water in the men's T100 at the World Triathlon Championships in Wollongong. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Jack Howell (PTS4) and Grace Brimelow (PTS5) took silver in their categories, with Hannah MacDougall (PTS4) third.

Later on Saturday, Gentle had a strong run and finished runner-up to British triathlon Kate Waugh in the T100 - a 2km swim, 80km cycle and 18km run event.

"It was a second place that felt like a win because I had the most incredible support on the course - I was overwhelmed," Gentle said.

Saturday was race seven of the nine-event T100 world pro tour.

Waugh dominated to win in three hours, 26 minutes 55 seconds, with Gentle finishing in 3:32:04,  27 seconds ahead of Spain's Sara Perez Sala. 

British competitor Kate Waugh
British competitor Kate Waugh wins the women's T100 at the World Triathlon Championships. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Australian Ellie Salthouse was another three minutes back for fourth place.

The win meant Waugh replaced compatriot Lucy Charles-Barclay as the series leader, while Gentle stayed in third place.

Running in an unorthodox bucket hat, New Zealand star Hayden Wilde retained his series lead by winning the men's T100. Jake Birtwhistle was the top Australian, finishing seventh.

New Zealander Hayden Wilde
New Zealander Hayden Wilde can tick winning the men's T100 event off his bucket list. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Wilde is understood to be backing up on Sunday afternoon in the final of the men's world championship series.

Hauser leads the series standings, and the two-time Olympian is the headline local story at the Wollongong worlds. No Australian has won the men's world series since it started in 2009.

The last Australian to win a men's elite world title was Pete Robertson in 2005, when it was still a one-off race.

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