Ironman Lake Placid

The 2010 Ironman Lake Placid professional race features a pair of former winners, along with a number of Ironman champions.
Joining the men's defending champion, Germany's Maik Twelsiek, will be multiple Ironman winners Australian Jason Shortis and New Zealand's Bryan Rhodes. The women's field will be led by Americans Caitlin Snow, the 2008 Ironman Lake Placid champion, and Amy Marsh.
Twelsiek won his first Ironman title in 2007 at Ironman Wisconsin and recently finished in third place at Ironman Lanzarote. He posted a 12th-place finish at the 2009 Ironman World Championship. Shortis is a veteran of the Ironman circuit with a resume that includes two titles at Ironman Western Australia. He raced to a third-place finish at Ironman Lake Placid in 2003 and repeated that performance at the 2009 race.
Rhodes is on the comeback trail after an Achilles injury last year; his last Ironman win was at the 2008 Ironman Canada. Others to watch in the field are Ben Hoffman, who placed third at the early-season Ironman St. George and perennial top-10 finisher Petr Vabrousek.


Snow followed her surprise win in Lake Placid in 2008 with a second-place finish last year. Known for her amazing strength on the marathon, Snow used that speed to move herself up to third place at Ironman St. George in May. Marsh took her first Ironman title at the 2009 Ironman Wisconsin; she added to that with a recent win at the 2010 Ironman China. Australia's Carrie Lester burst on to the Ironman scene with a win at Ironman Australia earlier this year in her first Ironman and first marathon.
Ironman Lake Placid will take place for the 12th consecutive year, and more than 2,600 athletes are expected to compete for a professional prize purse of $50,000 and 72 qualifying spots for the 2010 Ironman World Championship to be held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October.