Swedish triathlete Lisa Norden is this year's women's world triathlon champion.
In the final race of the world series in Auckland on Saturday afternoon, Norden did enough to thwart the title hopes of New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt, who finished third in the world series.
Norden, the Olympic silver medallist, only needed to finish in the top six on Saturday after series leader Erin Densham of Australia pulled out during the bike leg.
After running a tactical race to finish fourth, however, Norden revealed she nearly didn't compete at all. She contracted food poisoning overnight, she said, and had to go hospital for an anti-nausea injection.
Germany's Anne Haug won the race after pulling away in the last leg of the run; she earned enough points to pip Hewitt - who finished seventh on Saturday - out of second overall.
Hewitt said she was pretty happy to finish third in the world for the year, even though she failed to keep up with the leaders on the run home.
Another local, Kate McIlroy, led for two laps on the bike leg but was hauled in and finished eighth for a 10th place in the series. Debbie Tanner was 28th on the day, just ahead of compatriot Nicky Samuels.
