Former Olympic pentathlon champion Jim Fox dies aged 81

The former Olympic champion Jim Fox has died at the age of 81.

Fox was one of the most important figures in British modern pentathlon having teamed up with Danny Nightingale and Adrian Parker to win gold at the 1976 Games in Montreal.

Fox was also famous for exposing the cheating of Soviet athlete Boris Onishchenko, who was disqualified from the same team event after it was discovered a switch had been hidden in his fencing sword to falsely register hits.

An army sergeant in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Fox was the only modern pentathlete to represent Britain in four Olympic Games, while his fourth-placed individual finish in 1972 was the best by a British man until Joe Choong claimed gold in 2021.

Fox also served as chairman of Pentathlon GB, and a statement from the governing body said: “All at Pentathlon GB send their condolences to Jim Fox’s family and remain grateful for everything he has done for our sport.”