Tauranga triathlete Anneke Jenkins has surprised an experienced field coming from behind to take out the World Aquathon Championship in Canada.

Held as part of the TransCanada Corp. World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton the 24-year-old was part of a successful New Zealand team on the opening day.

Tauranga triathlete Anneke Jenkins. Photo: Supplied.

New Zealand won the women's elite and junior titles, as well as the men's junior division.

The championship sees elite, under23, juniors, paratriathletes and age group competitors contest the Aquathlon titles in a 750m swim and 4.6km run.

ITU Aquathlon World Championships have been held annually since 1998 and some of the world's best athletes have claimed the title, including Kiwi Kris Gemmell.

In the women's race Great Britain's Hannah Kitchen headed for the transition first, but Jenkins surprised the experienced aquathlon field to sprint past them on the two-lap run for gold.

Last year's bronze medal winner Yulia Yelistratova, Ukraine, upgraded to a silver, while Kitchen took third.

Coached by Spaniard Javier Gomez, a three time ITU Triathlon world championship and 2012 Olympic silver medallist, Jenkins made the switch from swimming to triathlon at the beginning of 2012.

Jenkins says she really enjoyed the race in what is a good warmup for the World Triathlon Grand Final.

'It's a good warmup, I had to do some hard training today. It's good to do the swim. I got lost twice coming out of the swim, so it's good to get those things out of the way.”

The grand final is the eighth leg of the 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series after legs in Auckland, London and Stockholm since April.