Below is a guest editorial courtesy of Lew Kidder, who holds a view with which we may or may not find ourselves in agreement. Either way, we promise not to throw a tantrum if his views not in concert with our own (unlike some...):

It may just be my impression, of course, but it appears as though Triathlon Digest and its sister site Triathlonlive have adopted an editorial position in opposition to the reelection of Les McDonald as president of ITU. In the past few weeks, an increasing stream of vitriol has splashed across these pages. McDonald is incompetent. McDonald is greedy. McDonald is a facsist. McDonald curses at journalists (the ultimate sin, I gather). McDonald has bad manners, and maybe even bad breath. Geez, perhaps the World Court should stop messing around with penny-ante Balkan war criminals and concentrate on something really important.

I give the critics their due: the man ain't perfect. He's made mistakes, some bigger than others. The Olympic qualification system could be improved. The ITU marketing effort hasn't always worked as well as it could. A few races have failed to fulfill pre-race purse promises. And McDonald doesn't have a uniformly sunny disposition, especially towards those who contest his point of view. I have personal experience with the last character trait. I was a delegate to our sport's con-con at Avignon in 1989, and one of the ITU's original officers. But when I disagreed with Les on some point of policy (neither of us can today remember precisely what it was), he turned his ire my way. And a formidable ire it can be.

That said, he's done a lot right, too. Here is one person's view from another direction.

1. Birth of the ITU. Anyone could have done this, I'm told; the time was right. But I was there when it happened, and I'm telling you that without Les McDonald, the conference would have failed. Don't believe me? Then ask Dave McGillivray or Lyn Brooks, two of the most respected names in the entire sport. They were part of the original U.S. delegation too. And one more thing: if birthing the ITU was such a snap, why did the most recent inductee into triathlon's hall of fame (Carl Thomas) fail in several earlier attempts?

2. ITU continues to live and function. No problem, eh? Obviously, you are not familiar with the history of world governing bodies. Ever hear of the League of Nations? Read stories about the modern-day United Nation's inability to pay its bills? Hear what's happening to the peacekeeping budget in Bosnia? Forgive the lack of literary imagination, but steering a body which operates on a one-nation, one-vote basis is like trying to herd cats. Or worse, triathletes.

3. Triathlon is in the 2000 Olympic Games. Triathlon's in, golf's not . . . and that says it all. Apologies to Simon Lessing and Dimitry Gaag, but Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia have a tiny bit more presence with both audience and advertiser. How did McDonald DO this?!! He must have dirty pictures of half of the IOC executive board.

4. Money for athletes: I've been around a long time, and we've never seen anything like this. B.M. (Before McDonald), the Ironman had some prize money, as did a scattering of races yither and yon. A few athletes made a decent living, but the rest existed on mom-pop sponsorships or lived in a beat-up VW bug (bows to you, Chuckie V). In the year 2000, there will be 13 World Cups, each with a prize purse of at least $50,000 U.S. A world championship with $175,000 U.S. A United States race with $70,000 open, plus a $30,000 U.S. bonus. Over 40 international points races, most of which have $10,000 U.S. Beyond that, many nations are actually supporting their Olympic aspirants with real money and performance bonuses. In the U.S., General Motors awarded new cars to two Olympic hopefuls and VISA is sponsoring four others. And broader sponsorship revenues, though as yet not a gusher, are at least a year-round stream. I've heard people bitch that because the ITU promised a minimum of $100,000 at each World Cup race a few years ago, it should be deemed a failure for not reaching its goal. Let's see: the ITU's in the financial dumper, but the athletes are doing much better. Yeah, now there's a leader we need to get rid of.

5. All politics is local. Several athletes have expressed their [negative] views of Les McDonald on Digest pages over the past few weeks, one even suggesting we embrace the political modus operandi of an ex-wrestler seeking reincarnation as a 38DD cup. After some reflection, I note these athletes seem to have at least one thing in common: none of them can swim. Which means, they didn't (and don't) participate in the new financial times. Pardon the cynic in me, but is it possible the root of their irritation with McDonald is the ITU's adoption of the draft-legal format? Let's hear from the athletes who CAN swim. Loretta Harrop, Barb Lindquist, Hamish Carter, Andrew Johns: how do you see the job being done by Les McDonald?

Do I wish McDonald some additional sweetness and light? Heck, yes. Do I hope the ITU can continue to keep its financial head above water? Of course, though it would be helpful if member nations didn't saddle it with financially-derelict world championship organizations (is my own country listening). But if the choice is between someone PROMISING a better day, and one who has proven tenacious enough (and occasionally ornery enough) to sink his teeth into Olympic program status and never let go, then ornery doesn't sound so bad after all.