The 28-year-old has dominated the event in recent years, having won gold at both Inverness in 2015 and Stromstad and Tanum last year.

Alm made it three-in-a-row today as she crossed the line first in a time of 13min 55.5sec.

The Dane impressively finished 37sec quicker than her nearest rival with Natalia Gemperle of Russia winning silver in 14:32.5.

Another Russian, Galina Vinogradova, rounded out the podium as she secured the bronze medal in 14:34.2.

"I feel very happy and it is also a relief," said Alm.

"I have been looking forward so much to this day although I am getting more and more nervous every year.

"I am very proud of this medal, as the pressure is getting bigger and bigger."

In the men's sprint event Switzerland's Daniel Hubmann clinched the gold medal to win the seventh World Championships title of his career.

It proved to be a much tighter affair than the women's race with the top three separated by a mere 5sec.

Hubmann, who also won sprint gold at the 2011 World Championships in Savoie in France, regained the crown in a time of 14:30.6.

France's Frederic Tranchand crossed the line in 14:33.5 to take silver while last year's champion, Sweden's Jerkell Lysell, could only manage bronze this year in a time of 14:35.8.

The sprint relay takes centre stage tomorrow with the long and middle distance races pencilled in for July 4 and 6 respectively.

Competition will then come to an end on July 7 with the relay event.