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AAP
AAP
Sport
Roger Vaughan

Triathlete Gentle wins big in Texan heat

Ashleigh Gentle has taken out a lucrative Professional Triathletes Organisation race in Dallas. (John Cowpland/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Australian triathlete Ashleigh Gentle has dug deep in brutal Texan heat for a lucrative win at the PTO Open long course race.

But Tokyo Olympics teammate Matt Hauser had a disastrous crash in Malibu, Calfornia at round three of the Super League short-course series.

Still, at least Hauser was not attacked by sea life - Portuguese triathlete Vasco Vilaca was bitten by a seal in a pre-event training swim.

Vilaca recovered from the bizarre incident to finish third in the Malibu round.

Gentle won $US100,000 when she took out the Professional Triathletes Organisation race in Dallas, beating a top-class international field.

She was eighth after the 2km swim and 80km cycle before storming through the 18km run.

"I had to dig to the depths of my soul for that one," Gentle told the Slowtwitch website. "It is very hot."

She broke down in tears after finishing in three hours 37 minutes 18 seconds, beating Taylor Knibb by 1:15 after the American led for much of the race.

Meanwhile, Hauser went into race three of the Super League series as overall leader after winning the previous round.

But he crashed on the bike and eventually failed to finish in the eliminator format.

New Zealand Hayden Wilde won the round to re-take the series lead.and Hauser dropped to third on the overall standings behind Vilaca.

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