Mario Mola secured his fourth World Triathlon Series win of the season ©Getty Images

Spain’s Mario Mola secured his fourth World Triathlon Series victory of the season here in Hamburg today as Richard Murray’s hopes of a repeat success in the sprint distance event were dashed by first a time penalty and then a disqualification.

South African Murray had triumphed in the German city back in 2012 and put himself in contention in the early stages of the race, as he led out of the swim.

Murray, though, was given a 10 second penalty after placing his wetsuit in the wrong box during the transition, with the recently crowned duathlon world champion facing an uphill battle to claim victory from the lead group.

The leading pack contained Murray’s training partner Mola, who began the day second in the overall World Triathlon Series, with the duo eventually joining forces to move clear as they started the five kilometre run.

Both Murray and Mola pulled away from their nearest rivals and opened up a significant gap as they tackled the two lap course, with rain beginning to pour down.

It virtually assured Mola of the race win due to the penalty still hanging over Murray, with the South African appearing unaware until being told by the Spaniard as they headed towards the finish.

Mola eventually crossed the line in a winning time of 52min and 19sec, while a furious Murray hit a sign as he crossed the line after serving his penalty and immediately began remonstrating with the officials, having clocked 52:33.

Despite slowing down as he finished, Australia’s Jacob Birtwhistle eventually won a photo finish with Spain’s Fernando Alarza, the current series leader, with the duo ending in 52:36.

Katie Zaferes won the women's race, with Gwen Jorgensen finishing third ©Getty Images
Katie Zaferes won the women's race, with Gwen Jorgensen finishing third ©Getty Images

Both men would appear on the podium, after officials disqualified Murray for his outburst at the end of the race.

The women’s race saw Katie Zaferes move clear of her breakaway companion Rachel Klamer of The Netherlands in the run to secure her maiden World Triathlon Series victory.

Both women were part of a seven strong group that led out of the swim, which surprisingly did not contain Zaferes’ fellow American Gwen Jorgensen, the winner in 2014 and 2015.

Zaferes and Klamer seized the initiative in Jorgensen’s absence with the pair moving clear as they started the run.

The American was eventually able to celebrate the win in a time of 57:03, after powering away in the final lap, with Klamer finishing second in 57:14.

Although she failed to win for only the second time since 2014, Jorgensen produced the second fastest women’s 5km time in the World Triathlon Series history to come through the field and finish third in 57:29.

Tomorrow will see the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Mixed Team Relay World Championships contested here in Hamburg.