This is the weekend that Les McDonald has been dreaming of, plotting for, manoeuvring towards, ever since he had the idea that triathlon should be an Olympic sport. Yet the Geordie who built the platform for Great Britain, with its strong squad, to make a medal-winning start to these Games will not be thanked by his home country for any success. "The story of hero to villain" was how Dave Bellingham, the British team manager, referred to McDonald today.

McDonald is the Primo Nebiolo of his sport, the autocratic - many say bullying - president of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) who, through alleged vote rigging and other manipulative tactics, has managed to hold onto his position through the 11-year history of the world governing body which he formed. However, while his political skills may be compared to Nebiolo’s, the late president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, his commercial shortcomings have made him many an enemy among those who seek to professionalise the sport.

The ITU is more than £1.4 million in debt, the World Cup has failed to attract a significant sponsor, and McDonald has fallen out with the three athletes who have helped to keep Britain as the most successful men’s nation over the last decade. Simon Lessing, Andrew Johns and Spencer Smith are all at odds with him, as are several of the ITU’s member nations. The day after the Games finish, McDonald is due in court to defend himself against a petition that the presidential election in April was unconstitutional.

"Les pushed for our sport to get into the Olympics and we need to give him credit for that," Lessing, an elite triathlete for ten years and favourite for the men’s gold medal on Sunday, said. "Unfortunately, I think the sport has lost its direction. I am speaking as an athlete who is trying to make a career out of this and, to a certain extent, we have not managed to attract title or major corporate sponsors. We should now be asking questions like why, what have we done wrong?

"We need to look at a way to manage our sport in a professional manner. I do not do many World Cup races and I have not had a conversation with Les in years." Lessing has competed in the World Cup only as often as was necessary to qualify for the Olympics. It was a clever, if unpopular, stroke which McDonald pulled when he put in place a three-year Olympic qualifying process which made it impossible to get there without contesting the World Cup.

"Simon has raced in the World Cup without appearance money because he needed to," Laurent Boquillet, Lessing’s manager, said. "Even now, if World Cup organisers want to pay Simon they have to find a hidden way. Les fights with me because I represent money." Boquillet, as director of the Golden League athletics meeting in Paris, saw qualities in Nebiolo missing in McDonald. "Primo knew money was important and could manage both, the politics as well," Boquillet added.

McDonald, a former North-East shipyard worker, has lived in Canada since the Fifties. His early interest in triathlon was as a competitor; he raced seven times in the Hawaii Ironman, where the sport was born in 1978, setting age-group records for the gruelling 2.4-mile swim, 112-kilometre ride and 26-mile marathon. Yet, when it came to getting triathlon into the Olympics, McDonald realised he had to make it shorter, sharper and more appealing to television. The Olympic event has a 1,500 metre swim, 40 kilometre ride and 10 kilometre run.

"McDonald was the driving force who knew how to jump through the Olympic hoops to get into the Games," Bellingham said. "Many purists in triathlon did not think the Olympics were important but he did. It is phenomenal to think that, in 22 years, we have gone from nothing to the Olympics."

McDonald has survived several attempts to oust him from office but he may not last much beyond these Games. He is alleged to have denied voting rights to 12 countries he knew would reject him at the presidential election. "McDonald kept us out of the Congress because he knew we were going to vote against him," David Rudd, the Venezuela delegate, said.

Seven countries have petitioned against the ITU and the case is due in the Supreme Court of British Colombia next month. They are seeking new elections. Erika Koenig-Zenz, the defeated Austrian candidate, accused McDonald of "doing anything to cling to power". His Olympic job done, McDonald’s departure now would be his second great contribution to the sport.

The Times