Army veteran and Olympic gold medal winner Jim Fox dies aged 81
Army veteran and Olympic gold medal winner Jim Fox has died aged 81.
Mr Fox spent 26 years serving in the British Army as part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
He was well known for his significant success on the international sporting scene including winning a team gold medal for fencing at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
To date, he is the only British pentathlete to have competed at four Olympic Games as he appeared in the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976 events.
His fourth-placed result at the 1972 Games in Munich was a record high finish for a British pentathlete that lasted until 2021 when Joe Choong won a gold medal in Tokyo.
Upon his retirement from sport, Fox served as the chairman for Great Britain Pentathlon and received an OBE and MBE for his services to sport.
He played a big role in the uncovering of cheating at the 1976 Games as he exposed Soviet athlete Boris Onishchenko, who was disqualified from the Games.
Onishchenko's fencing sword had been rigged to falsely register hits and it was uncovered in a contest against Mr Fox.
Pentathlon GB released a statement saying: "All at Pentathlon GB send their condolences to Jim Fox's family and remain grateful for everything he has done for our sport."
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