Returning Champions to Contest Subaru Ironman Canada

It's a battle of the champions

There will be three Subaru Ironman Canada champions in the pro field for the 26th edition of the race on Sunday including defending champion Lisa Bentley and 2006 winners Belinda Granger and Jasper Blake.

Bentley has an impressive total of eleven Ironman championships on her resume, making her one of the most successful athletes in the sport. She has also enjoyed success at the Ironman 70.3 distance, placing second at the 2006 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship70.3 and recently winning the Ironman Providence 70.3 event.

Blake won in 2006 after two previous podium finishes at the Penticton event and finished fourth at the 2007 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

Granger, who has won a total of six Ironman titles in her career to date, followed her win in 2006 with a win at the 2007 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid race. This year she won at Ironman Malaysia and Ironman China.

Others to watch in the women’s pro field include four time Ironman champion, Katja Schumacher of Germany and newcomer Heather Wurtele. Schumacher’s most recent Ironman win came under difficult conditions at the 2006 Ford Ironman Wisconsin. Wurtele, of Victoria, BC was the surprise winner at the 2008 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene and will be looking for a second at Subaru Ironman Canada.

The men’s field features two multiple Ironman champions, Bryan Rhodes and Jason Shortis. New Zealander Rhodes has won Ironman titles four times and has several podium finishes at Subaru Ironman Canada. Shortis, of Australia, has won five Ironman titles, the most recent at Ironman Japan in May 2008.

The pro men’s race will also include the 2007 Subaru Ironman Canada second place finisher Jonathan Caron. Caron, who resides in Penticton, finished in sixth place at the 2008 Ford Ironman Arizona after experiencing mechanical problems on the bike. Gordo Byrn has finished on the podium three times at Subaru Ironman Canada and will be in the hunt for his first title.

Athletes will be competing for a $75,000 pro prize and 80 qualifying spots for the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. We'll have live coverage of this weekend's race including video, text updates, pictures, live athlete tracking, and more.