Reed established himself in the lead group after the 1500 metres swim at Gaviotas Beach and produced the fourth fastest time on the 40km bike ride before earning his decisive advantage in the concluding 10km run.

A time of 31min 43sec in the run saw him come home for the title in a combined 1hr 43min 49sec.

Canadians Martin Sobey and Brock Hoel were second and third respectively in 1:44.39 and 1:44.41, with Matthew Wright of Barbados fourth in 1:44.52.

Like Reed, Tapia Vidal made her biggest gains in the final discipline as the women took on the same course.

A 10km time of 36min 08sec, the second fastest recorded, was enough to earn the title after steady performances in the swimming and biking.

In the end, she was hard-pressed by Gina Sereno of the United States, who recorded 36:06 in the run and finished just three seconds adrift of the Mexican’s winning time of 1:59:35.

Canada’s Emy Legault earned bronze in 2:00.16 ahead of Brazil’s Djenyfrer Arnold on 2:00.29 and Anahi Alvarez Corral of Mexico on 2:00.38.