Olympic gold champion passes away

JIM FOX, the British modern pentathlon Olympic gold medal­winning athlete has passed away at the age of 81. The Wiltshire ­ born sportsman picked up a team gold medal at the Montreal Games in 1976.

After retiring from competitive sports, Jim was appointed chairman of Pentathlon GB. A statement paying tribute in his memory was released on the Pentathlon GB Twitter account. It read: “Pentathlon GB are deeply saddened to confirm the 1976 Modern Pentathlon Olympic Gold medallist and former Pentathlon GB Chairman, Jeremy (Jim) Robert

Fox OLY MBE OBE passed away yesterday Friday, April 28 at the age of 81.

“Born in Pewsey, Wiltshire, on September 19, 1941, Jim Fox was an army sergeant in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).

“Jim Fox, a fierce and established competitor, represented Great Britain at four Olympic Games. He competed in Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972, before securing a Team Gold in Montreal 1976 alongside British teammates Danny Nightingale and Adrian Parker.

“The 1976 Montreal Games is one that sits firmly in many people’s memories after Fox made headlines when he exposed the tampered sword of Boris Onishenko, leading to the elimination of the Soviet athlete for cheating.

“He finished fourth in the individual event in Munich in 1972, having been dissuaded from retiring by coach Ron Bright after the 1968 Mexico City Games.

“All I could think about was that Onishchenko had a weapon that was not properly working,” Fox later told the goals apiece, but, City’s man still has the rest of this campaign to go yet.

If the fans thought that this was going to be another match totally controlled by City, they were stunned after 15 minutes. Fulham surged forward and a stunning strike from Carlos Vinicius left Ederson for dead after being teed up by Harry Wilson.

England star Jack Grealish had an opportunity to put his team in front after 27 minutes but his shot was tipped onto the bar by Leno. After 36 minutes, Argentinian striker Julain Alvarez did ex­ actly what Guardi ola bought him for as he smashed a shot home from outside the box for 1­2.

Grealish tweeted after the game: “Great result at a tough place to go! Away support was Juliiiiii wow what a finish.”

Sunday’s win moved Manchester City a point clear of Mikel Arteta’s side and they played one game less than Arsenal. The Gunners had been perched at the top since mid­February but under the current circumstances, it would seem oddson that City will retain their crown.

BBC about the

fencing cheat. “And then, over a period of minutes, because he was going to put it back in his bag and because of the way he wanted to put it back in his bag, I felt there was something dramatically wrong,” he added.

As a result of a subsequent investigation, Onishchenkowho won five gold medals in total ­ was disqualified. “The weapon had definitely been tampered with. Someone had wired it in such a way that it would score a winning hit without making contact,” explained Carl Schwende, one of the officials at the Montreal games.

“We are saddened by the news that 1976 Modern Pentathlon Olympic Gold medallist and former @PentathlonGB Chairman, Jeremy (Jim) Robert Fox OLY MBE OBE passed away April 28, 2023 aged 81. Jim Fox retired as a Capt in the @Official_REME and opened the ‘Jim Fox’ Gym in Lyneham in 2016,” tweeted British Army Sport.