South African Murray won the men's race in the New Zealand city for the third time in a row while American Zaferes reclaimed a crown she won in 2014.

Murray's compatriot Henri Schoeman, the world champion, led out of the swim alongside Shachar Sagiv of Israel and home favourite Trent Thorpe.

An eight-man group then formed at the front of the cycling section, including Murray, as the field dealt with tricky slippery conditions over the sprint distance. 

The eventual winner stayed out of trouble in the wet and stormed away on the run despite losing time changing his footwear.

"I ran in my trainers today because my ankle was a bit sore, a heavier shoe, I'd never put them on before and I spent about ten to 12 seconds trying to pull them on and watching everyone run away, not generally what I do in transition," he said. 

"Usually I'm quick, but I was a bit slow today."

Matthew McElroy of the United States just edged New Zealand's Ryan Sissons on the line for second.

Zaferes' win in the women's race was the fourth in a row for a US athlete.

She was in the lead group which exited the non-wetsuit swim and remained out of trouble during the bike with compatriots Taylor Spivey, Kristen Kasper, Sarah True, Chelsea Burns and Summer Cook.

In the final stages of the run Zaferes made an error by taking a slight wrong turn, but she was not fazed as she beat Canada's silver medallist Joanna Brown to the line.

Belgium’s Claire Michel came home for bronze. 

"I love wetsuit swims but also enjoy the cold, I find that to be a strength, so it gave me some confidence knowing it would be a bit chilly and it's not the perfect conditions, I kind of do better in that," said Zaferes.