She held off the challenge of Great Britain’s Jodie Stimpson in a sprint finish to clock a time of 2 hours 3mins 46sec, while Austria’s Sara Vilic claimed the final spot on the podium.

Hewitt dedicated her victory to her late fiancé Laurent Vidal, who died on November 10, 2015 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The Frenchman had been forced to retire from triathlon after a cardiopulmonary arrest in April 2014 put him in an induced coma.

When the same race was held last year, organisers gave Vidal the number one spot as a tribute.

“It was an amazing race for me, it is amazing coming here to Abu Dhabi for me,” a tearful Hewitt said afterwards.

“Last year, the number one spot was dedicated to Laurent and this year I am dedicating [my victory] to Laurent.

“Laurent always told me that I had everything, I had the dedication, I had the integrity, I had talent and he told me the one thing I was missing was emotion and I didn’t show it a lot of the time.”

Hewitt was not part of the leading pack after the swimming element, but her and Stimpson swallowed up the gap with their cycling.

During the run, the duo broke from the main pack alongside Vilic and with the finish nearing, Stimpson upped the pace and looked to have grabbed victory.

However, Hewitt found the strength to battle back and in the last few metres took the lead and stayed there to claim her first ITU World Series win since 2011.

Action continues tomorrow with the men’s race.