Canadian Paula Findlay was the women's triathlon winner Saturday in London. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)

Canadian Paula Findlay has won gold in her first World Championship Triathlon Series race.

Running toward the finish line in a pack of four, Findlay was simply fighting to get on the podium. She surprised everyone, including herself, by crossing first.

"Oh my God this is so unbelievable," the 21-year-old from Edmonton beamed after winning the London Triathlon on Saturday in her first start in the world championship series.

"Running with a group of four is always hard, because there's only three spots on the podium. At that point in the race I was just hoping for a podium spot. Then I looked back and saw I had a little gap and just ran my heart out."

Findlay, who won her first World Cup race in April, joined the leaders halfway through the cycle stage, then burst ahead from a leading pack of four runners with about 800 metres to go to win in one hour 51 minutes 48 seconds on the Hyde Park course that will be used in the 2012 Olympics.

Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, the London winner last year, was three seconds behind for second, and local hope Helen Jenkins was five seconds back in third for a second straight year.

"I was crossing the finish line and just couldn't believe it. It was such a crazy feeling," said Findlay, who finished fourth at the Hy-Vee Elite Cup in Des Moines, Iowa last month. "I immediately thought of everyone at home and how cool this was to win such a big race.

"I'm still just absolutely shocked."

Montreal's Kathy Tremblay (1:56:56) was 38th, and Victoria's Kirsten Sweetland (1:58:18) was 45th.

The 1.5-kilometre swim was in the picturesque Serpentine, a lake in the middle of the vast downtown park. The 40-kilometre bike was eight laps around the park. Athletes then closed out the event with a final three loops around the park to complete the 10-kilometre run.

Findlay's preparation for the race included a high-altitude training camp in the Pyrenees Mountains, work she feels paid off Saturday.

"I felt so good on the run, in fact, I have never felt that way before so I think was prepared properly with all of the support staff here this week," said Findlay. "Last week was a great camp led by our coach Patrick Kelly. We had consistent training and I followed all of the workouts so I think it helped me a lot for this race."

Triathlon Canada is using the event as an Olympic dress rehearsal for both athletes and support staff.