More than 1,800 triathletes from around the world will be invading Lake Placid on July 29 as the third annual Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid Triathlon is set to take place in and around the Olympic Village.

If more than 1,750 athletes toe the starting line at the event, it'll make the event the largest single-wave Ironman event in history.

Isuzu Ironman Lake Placid is one of the most prestigious triathlons in the world, and attracts athletes from all over the world. Athletes from 14 different countries and 46 states will compete in 2001.

"Ironman is truly an international event," said Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid Race Director Lyle Harris. "The fact that athletes are willing to come from all over the world, shows how well perceived the Lake Placid race is in the triathlon community."

2001 outlook

The 2001 event will feature a pair of returning champions as well as a pair of Olympians.

Defending champion Cameron Widoff (Boulder, Colo.) will be the one to catch in the men(1)s field. Widoff posted the first Ironman victory of his career in Lake Placid in 2000, posting an overall time of 8 hours 46 minutes and 5 seconds.

Widoff will be challenged by five returning athletes who finished in the top 10 at the 2000 event.

The returnees include: Jamey Yon (Charlotte,N.C., 2nd to Widoff in 2000), Eric Bean (Freemont, Calif. 5th in 2000), Alec Rukosuev (Apopka, Fla., 6th in 2000), Pierre Lavoie (Labaie, Quebec, 7th in 2000) and Peter Kotland (Duncan, S.C., 9th in 2000).

Yon finished 10 minutes behind Widoff in 2000 (8:56:34), while Kotland holds the Lake Placid run course record (2:55:49) set back in 1999.

Also expecting to challenge the men(1)s field are a pair of Ironman newcomers, who will both compete in the distance for the first time in 2001 at Lake Placid.

2000 U.S. Olympian Ryan Bolton (Gillette, Wyo.) is fresh off an exciting win at the St. Croix Half Ironman back in May and should challenge in his first Ironman event.

Another athlete competing in his first Ironman distance event is two-time NORBA Cross Country Mountain Biking champion Steve Larsen (Davis, Calif.)

Larsen has recently turned his attention to triathlon, and has been turning in some impressive races, including a record- breaking performance at the 1/2 Vineman in Davis three weeks ago, which saw him top both Widoff and 2000 Ironman California champion Chris Legh on the way to setting a new course record. Larsen could do some serious damage on the rugged Adirondack bike course and throws a definite twist into the men(1)s field.

Others to look for among the men include: Fred Biondi (Quebec, Can. fourth at Isuzu Ironman USA in 1999), Mike Neill (Canada, 7th at the 1999 event), Kevin Cutjar (Penticton, B.C.) and John Van Wisse (Australia, fourth at Ironman New Zealand this year).

The women(1)s race will feature 1999 Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid champion Heather Fuhr.

One of a host of Canadian greats in the world of triathlon, Fuhr has won 10 Ironman events in her career, the second most in history. One of the strongest runners in the sport, Fuhr holds the course record in Lake Placid (3:11:04). If it comes down to the run, Fuhr will be tough to beat.

U.S. Olympian Joanna Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.) will provide a stiff test to Fuhr and the rest of the field. Zeiger finished fourth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the highest finish of any U.S. athlete in the sport of triathlon.

The Baltimore native will be attempting to win the first Ironman crown of her career in Lake Placid, but has four top-ten finishes at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii to her credit, including a fifth-place finish last year.

Last year(1)s runner-up Julianna Nievergelt (Medfield, Mass.) has announced that the 2001 Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid event will be her last as a pro.

The 41-year-old Nievergelt returns to the site of her top Ironman finish, as her 2000 battle with eventual champion Melissa Spooner remains a memorable moment in Ironman Lake Placid history.

A trio of U.S. triathletes: Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas), Laura Drake (Atlanta, Ga.) and Mary Uhl (Sante Fe, N.M.) could also be a threat in the 2001 event. All three have finished as high as second in an Ironman North America event (Fisher-2nd at Ironman Florida in 2000, Drake-2nd at Subaru Ironman Canada in 2000, and Uhl-2nd at Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid in 1999). Expect all three to be in the thick of things in Lake Placid.

Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid Quick Facts

1. Between 1,500 and 1,750 athletes typically compete in Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid. This year's field could exceed 1,800 making it the largest single-wave Ironman event in history.

2. Athletes compete for 100 qualifying spots for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, as well as $50,000 in prize money (pros only).

3. Distances for an Ironman event are 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run.

4. Athletes have from 7 a.m.-midnight to complete the event. Cutoffs for each leg are 9:20 a.m.-swim, 5:30 p.m.-bike, midnight-run. Meaning if an athlete is still competing in that individual leg after that time, they are pulled off the course.

5. Crowds at Isuzu Ironman USA Lake Placid have grown tremendously over the past two years. Estimates from last year put the race-day crows in the vicinity of 30,000 spectators.