Former Blue Mountains triathlete Sam Appleton was crowned the men's champion of the Challenge Batemans Bay half-marathon on March 29.
Starting at 7am, the professionals took the plunge at Corrigans Beach for a 1.9km swim before a 90km bike ride and 21.1km run.
Appleton, who won the 2012 and 2013 events, finished in three hours, 57 minutes and 29 seconds and was the only entrant to break the four-hour barrier.
Peter Robertson finished second in the men's race in four hours, three minutes and 21 seconds and was followed by Per Bittner in four hours, six minutes and 48 seconds.
Appleton, 24, used his prowess on the bike and never looked back.
"It feels really good, I love Batemans Bay and I've been out here four years now and it's a happy hunting ground for me," said the former St Columba's High School student.
"It's nice to come back and get that top spot.
"I knew there were some fast runners in the field and I wanted to put pressure on with the bike.
"I thought I did that well for the first 60 kilometres but with about 25 to go my wattage started to go down a bit and I sort of went in to damage control."
Writing on his blog after the event, Appleton, now based in Byron Bay, said:
"I've taken a new kind of confidence and belief within my ability this year, and I have learned to back myself and take control of my racing which is something I will be doing more of moving forward."
Appleton's next major race will be the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca in Spain on May 9.
