TWO of Australia's rising stars stole the show with dominant performances in the Kingscliff Triathlon on Sunday.

Gold Coast triathlete Daniel Coleman took out the open men's event while Gillian Backhouse claimed the women's crown.

Coleman finished the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run in one hour 55 minutes and 29 seconds, almost two minutes clear of Lindsey Lawry with Jack Van Stekelenburg third.

A regular starter in the Kingscliff event, Coleman has emerged as one of Australia's top young triathletes and has his sights set on a berth in the Australian team to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Backhouse is also in the mix for the Gold Coast Games after an impressive season on the international circuit.

The 25-year-old dominated Sunday's race, finishing sixth overall in an impressive 2:01:38, more than eight minutes ahead of runner-up Laura Dennis. Defending champion Courtney Gilfilan finished third.

Event organiser Mike Crawley said the race had been a major success with more than 1300 athletes taking part.

"We had very large numbers but it went very well,” he said.

"It was a challenging swim with the tide early but the cycle course went well as did the run.”

Crawley said while the elite athletes had set the pace, the day had belonged to the younger competitors.

"We had enormous numbers in the juniors,” he said.

"They just love to be part of it. It's a very family-centric event.”

Organisers will now switch their focus to the next staging of the bi-annual event on March 26.

The Kingscliff race will double as the Queensland State Championships and will also serve as a selection trial for the Australian team to compete at the world championships.