Boris Onishchenko

Boris Onishchenko

Personal information
Full name	Борис Григорьевич Онищенко
Born	(1937-09-19) 19 September 1937
Residence	Kiev, Ukraine
Sport
Country	Soviet Union
Event(s)	modern pentathlete
Medal record Mens' modern pentathlon Competitor for  Soviet Union Olympic Games Gold 1972 Munich Team Silver 1968 Mexico City Team Silver 1972 Munich Individual

Boris Onishchenko (Борис Григорьевич Онищенко; also transliterated as Onyshchenko, Onishenko, Onischenko; born 19 September 1937) is a former Ukrainian/Soviet modern pentathlete who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics, in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and in the 1976 Summer Olympics.^[1]

He was a member of the Soviet Union's modern pentathlon team in the 1976 Summer Olympics, infamous for being disqualified for cheating.^[2]

1976 Modern Pentathlon

Having already earned his country an Olympic medal earlier in Mexico City and Munich, Onishchenko entered the event as a three-time world champion and a sportsman respected by his fellow Olympians. After the first event of the pentathlon, the Soviet team found itself in fourth place, trailing closely behind Britain. Fencing was the next event: a one-touch épée tournament. Onishchenko was considered the finest fencer among his competitors and was favored to win his matches.

During Onishchenko's bout with British team captain Jim Fox, the British team protested that Onishchenko's weapon had gone off without actually hitting anything.^[3] The director confiscated the Soviet's weapon and brought it to the bout committee, where an illegal modification to the grip was discovered. The bout was allowed to continue, and despite using an unmodified sword, Boris still won by a large margin.

He was disqualified from the competition afterwards, and the Soviet Union were forced to withdraw from the team event as a result. The British team that exposed Onishchenko went on to win the gold medal.^[2]

In electric épée fencing, a touch is registered on the scoring box when the tip of the weapon is depressed with a force of 750 grams, completing a circuit formed by the weapon, body cord, and box. It was found that his épée had been modified to include a switch that allowed him to close this circuit without actually depressing the tip of his weapon, so Onishchenko could register a touch without making any contact on his opponent.

Newspapers decried him as "Disonischenko" and "Boris the Cheat".^[4] Onishchenko earned the enmity of other Soviet Olympic team members: for example, the USSR volleyball team members threatened to throw him out of the hotel's window if they met him.^[5] He was removed from the athletes' village by Soviet officials the night of his disqualification and the next day reported to be "back in his home town of Kiev." Two months later it was reported he had been called before Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev for a personal scolding, dismissed from the Red Army, fined 5,000 rubles, stripped of all his sporting honours, and was working as a taxi driver in Kiev.^[2]

References