Beijing Olympic champion Emma Snowsill has completed her first triathlon of 2010, finishing sixth at the world championship event in Seoul on Saturday.

Snowsill missed the end of last year's world championship series due to a hip injury and sat out her first two scheduled races of 2010 due to a virus.

But the pint-sized Queenslander returned to the competitive arena in Saturday's race, which was won by Switzerland's Daniela Ryf in a sprint finish.

Current world champion, Australian Emma Moffatt, looked to have the race won until the final two kilometres, when she was caught by the chasing pack. Moffatt eventually came in third behind Chile's Barbara Riveros Diaz.

"I felt really good at the start of the run," Moffatt said.

"But I definitely started to suffer on the final lap."

Riveros Diaz maintains her championship lead after her second-place finish, 170 points ahead of Moffat after two rounds of this year's championship.

In the men's race Australian Olympians Courtney Atkinson and Brad Kahlefeldt also medalled.

Atkinson, who missed the series opener in Sydney last month due to a virus, missed out on gold in the men's race by just one second.

Atkinson pushed Olympic gold medallist Jan Frodeno all the way before being pipped at the death, with fellow Australian Brad Kahlefeldt claiming the bronze.

AAP