Lake Placid offers the final opportunity for Kona slots to be secured in the USA as a stacked field lines up for what is one of the cornerstones of the North American season.
With four World Championship places up for grabs per gender, some of the biggest names in triathlon have signed up in a bid to secure their places on the Big Island for October’s end-of-season showdown.
After this weekend, there remains only one more race where qualification can be secured, with Kalmar in Sweden giving up the last three slots per gender… so it is all to race for as the athletes line up in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.
Here’s all you need to know.
Start times, how to watch and the course
IRONMAN Lake Placid takes place on Sunday, July 19, with the Pro men due to set off in Mirror Lake at 06:18 local time, which is Eastern Daylight Time in the US. The women are then due to start five minutes later at 06:23.
Timings around the world for this race are 11:18 in the UK, 12:18 across Central Europe, 05:18 in the central USA, and 03:18 on the Pacific Coast.
The start time for Western Australia is 18:18, Central Australia is 19:48, and Eastern Australia is 20:00. The men’s race starts at 22:18 in New Zealand.
The race will be broadcast live, free for all international audiences across IRONMAN YouTube, ironman.com/proseries, and DAZN, with additional regional live broadcasts and highlight shows also available on L’Équipe Live in France, ESPN (within Disney+), SuperSport, hr-Fernsehen, RTVE, iQIYI, and Outside TV.
Broadcast and streaming information can be found HERE.
The iconic IRONMAN Lake Placid triathlon course begins with a 2.4-mile swim in Mirror Lake before athletes tackle a two-loop, 112-mile bike course through New York’s stunning Adirondack Mountains. The race culminates with a challenging two-loop marathon that finishes on the legendary Olympic Oval, site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games.
Pro women
The women’s race brings together a compelling mix of established champions, rising stars, and athletes who are very much in the hunt for valuable IRONMAN Pro Series title points.
Wearing the number one bib is Austria’s Lisa Perterer, who finished as runner-up last year and was third overall in the end-of-season Pro Series rankings. She has started her 2026 campaign well, recently finishing fifth at the IRONMAN Hamburg European Championship.
Joining her is Spain’s Marta Sanchez, who finished third in this race last year. Sanchez currently sits ninth in the Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series standings and has been one of the most consistent performers on the circuit this season, having amassed over 7,000 points through a series of strong performances.
American Chelsea Sodaro, the 2022 IRONMAN World Champion, will make her debut at one of the sport’s most iconic venues, looking to add another marquee victory to her resume, while Australia’s Grace Thek arrives as one of the most in-form athletes in the women’s field.
Canadian Tamara Jewett, currently eighth in the series standings, brings one of the strongest run resumes in the sport, and compatriot Paula Findlay arrives fresh off a dominant victory in the 70.3 at Pennsylvania, as she makes her full-distance IRONMAN debut.
Other contenders include America’s Rachel Zilinskas, Great Britain’s Rhianne Hughes, Denmark’s Shiva Leisner, France’s Anne Basso, Canada’s Danielle Fauteux and Ireland’s Fiona Moriarty, highlighting the depth and international flavour of the women’s professional field.
The pro women still looking for a Kona slot include Sodaro, Findlay, Hughes, Leisner, Basso, and Moriarty.
Pro men
Reigning champion Matthew Marquardt (USA) returns to the Adirondacks as one of the form men in IRONMAN this season, having recorded a fine win in South Africa and narrowly missing out on a podium place at 70.3 Pennsylvania.
It will, however, be a tough ask for him to repeat last year’s heroics as Lake Placid welcomes a fiercely strong field of American and international athletes this weekend.
Trevor Foley (USA) is certainly the man to watch, having won both of his races this season – the 70.3 in Pennsylvania and IRONMAN New Zealand – with two thrilling performances and knowing he has won here before, taking the 2024 title.
The top European in the field is Belgium’s Marten Van Riel, who has shown impressive form throughout 2026, recently winning IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore and having finished second behind Kristian Blummenfelt in Texas at the North American Championship.
Last year’s runner-up Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN) was also third in the Pro Series last season and remains one of the strongest cyclists in the field.
Other athletes of note include Americans Rudy Von Berg, Jason West and Ben Kanute, who are all capable of challenging on their day; and the likes of Sweden’s Rasmus Svenningsson, Germany’s Frederic Funk, French duo Leon Chevalier and Arnaud Guilloux, Canada’s Cody Beals, and Spain’s Diego Mentrida.
The pro men still looking for a Kona slot include Høgenhaug, West, Funk, Chevalier, Beals, and Mentrida.
What’s on the line?
The event will offer a maximum of 5,000 points toward the IRONMAN Pro Series standings and a $125,000 USD professional prize purse, as well as four slots per gender to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona later this year.
The prize money is split equally between the men’s and women’s fields, with each gender having $62,500 USD to share among the top ten finishers.
1st Place: $18,000
2nd Place: $12,000
3rd Place: $7,000
4th Place: $5,000
5th Place: $4,000
6th Place: $3,500
7th Place: $3,000
8th Place: $2,500
9th Place: $2,000
10th Place: $1,500
