The Christchurch athlete gave birth to her first child, Benjamin, earlier this year.
Crawford holds the New Zealand record for long-distance triathlon and has won Challenge Wanaka three times but did not compete last January because of her pregnancy.
Crawford said she was having to make the most of opportunities to train, with her focus on quality rather than quantity.
"I am really excited to be making Challenge Wanaka my first event back after having Benjamin. I missed competing this year and with it being my favourite event, I certainly don't want to miss it two years in a row. The biggest challenge for me will be to gain the endurance needed for racing an iron distance event, as at the moment I am training around Benji's random schedule, which doesn't allow for many long sessions," she said.
Aucklander Belinda Harper, a former age-group champion, has also confirmed her entry in the professional women's field, along with Australian athlete Jodie Scott.
In the men's field, Invercargill's Jamie Whyte is back to defend his title against 2010 titleholder and course record-holder Richard Ussher, of Nelson.
Also racing are German Marc Pschebizin, the 2008 winner, Keegan Williams, of Hamilton (third at Challenge Roth this year), Aucklander Keiran Doe (second in the ITU long-distance triathlon world series) and Australian Leon Griffin of Australia (a former world duathlon champion).
