Peter Whiteside

Peter Whiteside was an exceptional swimmer as a youngster and won many events in his native north-east. He became a mechanic in the RAF in 1969 and took up pentathlon in 1973. After a switch to the Army, with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 1977, he worked alongside 1976 Olympic gold medalist lieutenant Jim Fox at Arborfield, Berkshire. Whiteside developed his pentathlon skills and that year finished second to Fox’s Olympic team-mate Danny Nightingale in the 1977 British Modern Pentathlon Championship. Whiteside also finished second to Richard Phelps in the British championship in 1983, after leading going into the final 4,000 metres run. Two years later, Whiteside was champion, and in his final competitive appearance at the 1987 championship, he won the bronze medal. He also won several national team titles over the years.

After leaving the Army, Whiteside became a fencing coach at Reading Fencing Club and played a big part in bringing on a new generation of young British fencers. He was also the Director of Fencing at many modern pentathlon competitions worldwide, including the 2001 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships and UIPM Pentathlon World Cups.

Whiteside moved to Cyprus with his wife in 2007, where they ran their own sports nutrition business, and he also competed in triathlons beyond the age of 60. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008 but recovered following an operation to remove it. Sadly a second tumor appeared in 2016 and, despite further surgery, he was left with brain damage and was wheelchair bound. In 2018 the pair returned to Britain, where he was treated in a care facility.

Having had to endure two brain operations, Whiteside cruelly fell to the deadly coronavirus in 2020 and, being in a vulnerable state of health, it claimed his life. At the time of his death he still held the Army 80 metres freestyle swimming record.