Granger Leads Women's Field at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid

Helen Manning previews the Women's field for this weekend's race

The Women's pro field at the 2007 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid will be led by four-time Ironman Champion Belinda Granger. The Australian will face competition from Americans Karen Smyers and Karen Holloway as well as Tereza Macel of the Czech Republic.

Granger has won Ironman Korea three times and won Subaru Ironman Canada last year. In addition, Granger has finished in the top three at Ironman Australia a number of times and has had four top-ten finishes at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Smyers was the Ironman World Champion in 1995 and has had to come back from several serious injuries during her racing career. She was fourth at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid in 2005 and recently finished second at the Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida in May 2007.

Holloway has finished on the podium in Lake Placid, finishing third in 2002. She won her first Ironman title at Subaru Ironman Canada in 2005. Earlier this year Holloway posted a fourth place finish at Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida.

Macel, who lives and trains in Canada, has one Ironman title on her resume. She won that at Ironman Korea in 2006. Her best performance at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid was in 2005 with a fourth place finish. She won the 2006 Muskoka Triathlon and also posted a sixth place finish that year at Ford Ironman Arizona.

Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid will be held for the ninth time on Sunday, July 22, 2007. The 2007 event will alternate from a men’s only professional race, as it was in 2006, to a women’s only professional race. The 2007 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid will feature a $50,000 professional women’s only prize purse. The 2007 Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene featured the same purse ($50,000) for professional men only.

We’ll have a full weekend of coverage of Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid right here on Ironman.com