PRESIDENT Clinton's first meeting with the Nato allies provided a

stark contrast of sick and robust Western leaders.

Clinton, 47, was up before the sun, jogging for 25 minutes in a park

near his hotel. At the sprawling Nato complex, he had no trouble

spotting German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, 62, a man of robust girth who

looked his usual ruddy-cheeked self.

''I was thinking of you last night, Helmut, because I watched the sumo

wrestling,'' Clinton quipped, grasping Kohl's arms.

They were greeted by Nato Secretary-General Manfred Woerner, 59, who

has lost a lot of weight and now looks frail after two operations for

cancer of the colon.

Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, 74, who has had a triple

heart bypass operation, shuffled in.

French President Francois Mitterrand, 77, who has cancer of the

prostate, looked wan in the bright camera lights, but told reporters:

''I'll be back next year.''