Jeremy Robert "Jim" Fox

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 19 September 1941) is a British

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

and Olympic champion.

Career

Fox is one of the most influential figures in the development of the Modern Pentathlon in Britain. He won the British title a record ten times and is the only British pentathlete to have competed in four Olympic Games. His fourth place in the individual event at Munich in 1972 was the best placing by a Briton up to that time. It was only subsequently matched by Richard Phelps in 1984, and surpassed in 2021 by

Joe Choong Joseph Choong (born 23 May 1995) is a British Modern pentathlon, modern pentathlete. He won the gold medal in the event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2022 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, World title in 2022. Early life Choong was b ...

who won gold in Tokyo. Fox made his Olympic début in 1964, when he placed 29th in the individual event, and in his second Olympic appearance in 1968 he improved to finish eighth. After the 1968 Games, Fox, then a sergeant in the

REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

, announced his retirement but he was dissuaded by his coach, Ron Bright, and remained in the sport for another eight years. During that period he set a fine example to the tyros of the sport and following his final individual effort at the 1972 Olympics he won a team gold medal in Modern Pentathlon at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, with

Danny Nightingale Robert Daniel "Danny" Nightingale (born 21 May 1954) is a British modern pentathlete and Olympic champion. He won a team gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) i ...

and

Adrian Parker Adrian Parker (born 2 March 1951) is a British modern pentathlete and Olympic champion. He won a team gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, with Danny Nightingale Robert Daniel "Danny" Nightingale (b ...

. Fox, who was later commissioned as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the REME, was first awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

and subsequently the

for his services to the sport.

References

External links

* 1941 births Living people British male modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes of Great Britain Modern pentathletes at the 1964 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1968 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain English Olympic medallists Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers officers Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-Olympic-medalist-stub