The event is the fourth round of the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series and will also serve as the 2011 Elite National Championship and an International Triathlon Union Pan American Cup.

Jorgensen, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will be joined on the start line by the defending USA Triathlon Elite national champions Laura Bennett from Boulder and Jarrod Shoemaker from Maynard, Massachusetts, a 2008 Olympian.

They will compete in the Olympic-distance event of 1500 metres swim, 40kilometre bike and 10km run, at Gallagher Beach on the shore of Lake Erie.

A total prize purse of $75,000, which includes $25,000 for the top five American finishers, is up for grabs, with $6,250 going to the top male and female finishers. An additional $3,750 will go to the top US male and female finishers.

The USA Triathlon Elite Race Series is a domestic, five-event series aimed at giving the nation's top Olympic-distance triathletes the chance to hone the racing skills needed to challenge for a place on the podium at the London Games.

Florida, Washington and California have already staged rounds of the competition, and the finale will be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on October 9.

Florida's Kaitlin Shiver currently leads the women's series, with 30 points from three events, while Hunter Kemper from Colorado Springs is one of three athletes with 25 points at the top of the men's standings – but the Buffalo event offers double points, so could go a long way to determining the series' winners.

The Nickel City Triathlon also features a sprint-distance event for age-groupers on Sunday (September 25).

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