It is with great sadness that British Eventing announce the passing of four-times Olympian Jeremy Robert (Jim) Fox OBE at the age of 81 years on the 28th April 2023.
Born in Pewsey, Wiltshire Jim joined the Corps or Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at the age of 15 years and it was in the army that he was introduced to the sport of modern pentathlon. Excelling at the sport and at the age of 23 years he was selected to represent Great Britain at the 1964 Olympic Games in Japan. Finishing 9th in the Team competition he was four years later selected to compete in the 1968 Mexico Games where he finished 8th as an Individual and in the Teams.
The 1972 Munich Games saw Jim narrowly miss out on an Individual medal when he finished 4th to be the best placed Brit. It was at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal that his hopes came to fruition, when he not only became the only British pentathlete to compete in four Olympic Games but also secured Team Gold. Jim went on to become Chairman of the Modern Pentathlon Association of Great Britain (MPAGB) and also the Pony Club Tethrathlon to which he gave a lot of his time in securing the sports future.
After leaving the army in the rank of Captain in 1983, Jim set up a property development business and focused his sporting interests on that of Eventing. Competing at the highest level, Jim saw considerable success in the sport competing notably at both Badminton and Burghley on his £400 mare Finisterre.
Jim leaves behind his wife Alex Fox, who served on British Eventing non-executive board between 2007-2008 before taking the role of Chairman until 2011, and daughter Roo who continues his legacy as an international event rider.
British Eventing would like to take this opportunity to express their condolences to Alex, Roo and the rest of their family and friends during this difficult and extremely sad time.
The family have asked that British Eventing share news that a private funeral will be held in the near future and to thank people of their kind thoughts and wishes.
