In the expected hot and humid conditions at this coastal resort in the Busan region, Hojo ran away from an elite men’s field of 54 in a competition consisting of a 750 metres swim, a 20 kilometres bike ride and a concluding sprint distance run of five kilometres.

Britain's Max Stapley, who had taken silver at the recent World Triathlon Championship Series event in Sunderland, took over the lead during the cycle section and made the final transition clear of the main pack in company with Hojo, Austria’s Tjebbe Kaindl, Luxembourg’s Stefan Zachäus and Valentin Wernz of Germany.

Hojo pushed on, extending his lead steadily and finishing 25 seconds clear, with Stapley, who had been the early leader in the swimming, earning silver and his first World Cup medal - after producing a late sprint to move past Wernz.

"I am very happy, I had a good run today," said Hojo, who clocked 50min 36sec.

"I am surprised that I had a 25-second lead. I am happy that today was the day that I got my first World Cup gold medal,” said Hojo.

Stapley, who recorded 50:59, nine seconds ahead of Wernz, added: "You can’t complain about two silvers in five days,

"I am absolutely buzzing. It was an awesome race, really hard from start to finish."

New Zealand’s Trent Thorpe was fourth on 51:14.

Earlier in the day Koch, who earned bronze in World Triathlon's flagship event in Sunderland, maintained her momentum by winning the women's race in a similar fashion to Hojo, arriving at the second transition in the lead group before securing victory on the run-in.

Koch finished in 56:50, 16 seconds clear of Slovakia’s Romana Gajdosova, with bronze going to Bermuda’s Erica Hawley, who finished two seconds in front of Mexico’s Sofia Rodriguez-Moreno.

The next big date in the World Triathlon diary is the Paris 2024 test event, which is due to take place on August 17 and 18.