The first of the world champions were crowned on Wednesday as the kick off to a week of action at the TransCanada Corp. World Triathlon Grand Final Edmonton, with Kiwis taking three gold medals.

Portugal’s Joao Silva timed his race perfectly to outpace Spain’s Javier Gomez on the final lap, taking his second consecutive Yokohama title with Russia’s Dmitry Polyanskiy following close behind for bronze

Olympic medallists Lisa Norden, Erin Densham and Javier Gomez along with 2011 Yokohama winner Joao Silva and the 2012 Japanese Olympic team discussed current form before the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama.

Amidst the intense heat in Yokohama, Joao Silva didn’t wilt but instead rose to the occasion and to the top of the podium for his first career Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series win

The last champion of Yokohama, Lisa Norden, and Aussie break-out stars Emma Jackson and Brendan Sexton, along with the top Japanese contenders met with the media to talk about racing after Beijing and their thoughts on Yokohama