It's midday Friday here, Eastern time, and I just got the press release from USA Triathlon notifying everybody that the Age-Group World Championship qualifier in Lake Placid has been turned into a duathlon, i.e., the swim was cancelled. The full press release is here.

I should note that I'm in San Diego, not Lake Placid, and so cannot appreciate the weather-related issues as acutely as can USAT officials who are at the race site. But that won't keep me from weighing in anyway, because, hey, that's what I do.

I think of my friend Mark Montgomery, against whom I first race in a triathlon in 1980. He's on a plane as we speak, traveling from L.A. to Lake Placid to race this race. He's a great swimmer. He just finished 3rd, in fact, in his age-group at Master's Nationals in the 400IM. Wonder what Mark is going to think when he shows up at the pre-race meeting? Wonder what he's going to say?

The swim was cancelled because of the current water temperature of 57 degrees. "What?!" Mark will say. "We used to do the half-Ironman in Monterey Bay in 52-degree water every year! Heck [he probably won't say heck], we used to stand on the frozen edge of Bass Lake every September before jumping into that frigid water. And that was before wetsuits!" The air in Bass Lake was pretty darn cold as well.

And Mark would of course be right, and the Bass Lake comparison would be most germaine, because it also was the race where athletes from all over the country would gather to see who was best among them.

I guess I'd have more sympathy for this decision if this was just a local first-timer's type race. But this is the World Championships qualifier. The swim shouldn't be cancelled without at least honoring the collective will of those who'll be racing. Certainly, make wetsuits mandatory. But to cancel the swim in a race of this import? Sounds like it might be an overreaction to me.

I also wonder about the late notice. If race organizers realized that the water was this cold, and that 57-degree water combined with colder air temps would cause them to decide to cancel the swim, then the organizers knew well before today that this might be a possibility. Waiting until today guarantees that 80% or more of the field would be en route, though. Which means that entry fees won't have to be refunded, because what's my buddy Mark going to do when he arrives at Lake Placid? Not race?

Hey, this is a difficult sport. This is often a dangerous sport. We all know that. We all sign the waiver. If the course is so dangerous that you can't bike safely on it, then cancel the bike. But if the course is safe enough to ride, then don't cancel the swim because the water is 57 degrees. Whether the water is 57 or 77, cold and raining conditions on the bike are going to threaten to make people hypothermic––perhaps even more so if the water was warmer.

Make them do the swim in wetsuits, but––really––let these athletes swim.

Am I being callous and disrespectful of the safety of those who will race? Just before I got the press release I got a call from a man in New York City who, earlier this morning, kissed his wife goodby and as she drove off in her car toward Lake Placid to race. He begs USAT to change it's mind, because––although he of course prays for her safety––he knows that's what his wife will want.