James Williams

At the age of 16 James Williams joined the British Army, where he became an accomplished sabre fencer and the first non-commissioned officer to captain the team. Williams was a two-time British sabre champion (1996, 2000), a three-time runner-up (1994, 1999, 2002), and a three-time bronze medallist (1992, 1997, 1998). At an international level he represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games and nine consecutive editions of the World Championships.

Williams made his Olympic début at the 1992 Barcelona Games where he competed in the team sabre event. Four years later he competed in the individual event but was eliminated in the second round by the eventual silver medallist Sergey Sharikov (RUS). His third and final appearance at the Olympics came at the 2000 Sydney Games where he made it to the last 16. In 2020 he joined the board at British Fencing, becoming the Olympic Team manager in 2023. Away from the sport Williams worked as the Director of Public Health for Medway Council in Kent, where he led the council’s response to the Covid pandemic.