Posted: July 22, 2005

Triathlon: Ballance, Ficker join women's field at 2005 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Karyn Ballance (New Zealand) and Desiree Ficker (Boulder, Colo.) will compete at the 2005 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid that will be held on July 24 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Ballance has competed at Ironman New Zealand every year from 1999 to 2004. She has recorded four second-place finishes during that span and won the title in 2002 with an overall time of nine hours, 27 minutes and 33 seconds.

Ficker has made an immediate impact on Ironman triathlon with an impressive start to the 2005 race season.

Ficker placed second at the 2005 Ford Ironman California Half in March and added another second-place finish at the inaugural Ford Ironman Arizona in April.

Ballance and Ficker are expected to battle four-time Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid Champion Heather Fuhr (Canada) as well as two-time Ironman Wisconsin champion Heather Gollnick (Hartford, Wisc.), Laura Drake (Manilou Spring, Fla.), 1995 Ford Ironman World Champion Karen Smyers (Lincoln, Mass.) and Andrea Fisher (Austin, Texas) for the women’s title.

One unique change at Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid is that it will serve as a women’s only professional race in 2005.

A $50,000 women’s pro prize purse will be awarded at the 2005 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon. A $50,000 pro prize purse for professional men was given at the third annual Ford Ironman USA Coeur d’Alene in June of this year.

More than 2,000 triathletes from around the world are expected to compete at the 2005 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid. Athletes will be competing for 80 qualifying spots to the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $50,000 women’s pro prize purse.