Triathlete Hall of Fame

Triathlete magazine has announced ITU president Les MacDonald as its 2007 inductee into the Triathlete Hall of Fame.

One of the most influential individuals in the history of the sport, the argument exists that McDonald is personally responsible for triathlon’s inclusion into the Olympic Games as well as the formation and longevity of the ITU World Cup series.

Not only is McDonald an influential politician, at the helm of the Vancouver-based International Triathlon Union since the organization’s inception in 1989, he was also a top triathlete and coach in his own right.

With his induction, McDonald joins the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 1998, which consists of triathlon founders Tom Warren, Bill Shanahan, David Pain, Bill Phillips and Jack Johnstone; the 1999 class of Dave Scott, John Collins, John Howard, Sally Edwards and Valerie Silk; the 2000 class of Julie Moss, Scott Tinley, Carl Thomas and Jim Curl; 2001 inductee Scott Molina; 2002 inductee Mark Allen; 2003 inductees Sylviane and Patricia Puntous; 2004 inductees Dan Empfield and Mike Pigg; 2005 inductee Paula Newby Fraser and 2006 inductees Greg Welch and Erin Baker.

"Les is one of the more colorful personalities in the in the history of the sport," says Triathlete magazine publisher John Duke. "It is my honor to induct him into the Triathlete Hall of Fame."