| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1952-06-23)23 June 1952 Marton, Middlesbrough, England |
| Died | 14 April 2020(2020-04-14) (aged 67) Peterborough, England |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Modern pentathlon |
Peter Whiteside (23 June 1952 – 14 April 2020) was a Britishmodern pentathlete.[1] He competed at the1980 Summer Olympics,[2] and he was the British Modern Pentathlon champion in 1985.[3] He died from complications due toCOVID-19.[4]
Whiteside was born inMarton, Middlesbrough, England in 1952.[1] He excelled in swimming when he was young, winning multiple races in the north east of England.[1] In 1969, he joined theRoyal Air Force as a mechanic, taking up pentathlon four years later.[1] In 1977, he moved over to theBritish Army working for theRoyal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[5] Here he worked withJim Fox, who had won the gold medal as part of the Great Britain team at the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal.[6] Later in 1977, Whiteside finished in second place in the British Modern Pentathlon Championship, just behind OlympianDanny Nightingale.[1] Whiteside again finished in second place in 1983,[1] before winning the British title in 1985.[7]
Whiteside competed in the modern pentathlete at the1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.[1] In theindividual event, he finished in 21st place,[8] and finished in eighth place in theteam event.[9]
In 1983, Whiteside was involved in a fencing accident that resulted in the death of his opponent, John Warburn.[10] The pair were training in a practice session when part of Whiteside's blade entered Warburn's neck.[10] The coroner recorded the death with the verdict of misadventure, with the death being the first in the history of British fencing.[10]
Following his career in the army, Whiteside went on to become a coach at the Reading Fencing Club.[1][7] He later became the Director of Fencing at several international pentathlon tournaments.[5] In 2007, Whiteside moved toCyprus,[5][3] running a business in the sports nutrition sector.[1] However, the following year, he was diagnosed with abrain tumour.[1] Despite having a successful operation, another tumour appeared in 2016.[1] This left him with brain damage and requiring the use of a wheelchair.[1] He returned to England in 2018 for further care, but died ofCOVID-19 in April 2020.[5] He was remembered in the In Memoriam section of the2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony.[11]
