Olympic triathlon champion Nicola Spirig has said that her performance to win the triathlon in the inaugural European Games was "perfect".
The Switzerland triathlete was leading off the bike and pulled away during the run to finish more than a minute clear of Rachel Klamer of the Netherlands, while Sweden's Lisa Norden completed the top three.
The 33-year-old told reporters: "It feels amazing to win the first European Games and to have won a qualifying spot for the Olympics in Rio makes this a perfect day for me.
"Winning the qualifying place means I can go an unconventional way to the Olympics and gives me that freedom to prepare my season as I want. Now I can do some long-distance races and plan my own schedule.
"It was perfect. I had a good swim and I made the jump on my own in the bike section, which is a hard thing to do. Then it was awesome to ride with Lisa and Rachel. We could work together and that allowed me to get away."
Great Britain's Heather Sellars finished 15th.
Sian Cowper
