Former Olympic champion Simon Whitfield of Victoria surged past American Andy Potts to win the Vancouver Triathlon World Cup event Sunday.

Whitfield, who won his first World Cup event since 2004, crossed the finish line in one hour 49 minutes and 16 seconds.

Victoria's Simon Whitfield, centre, celebrates his triathlon win with Americans Andy Potts, left, and Matthew Reed Sunday in Vancouver.
(Delly Carr/Associated Press)

Potts finished in 1:49:18 while fellow American Matthew Reed placed third in 1:50:11.

"That was fun," a grinning Whitfield said.

The 2000 Olympic gold medallist was competing as his girlfriend Jennie was preparing to give birth to the couple's first child in Victoria.

"At the beginning of the swim I had to calm myself down," he said. "Jennie called this morning just to wish me luck. I saw her number [on the phone] and thought 'here we go.' My adrenaline going in was pretty high."

In the women's race, Samantha Warriner of New Zealand used a strong run to pass American Sarah Haskins and win her fourth career World Cup.

With files from the Canadian Press