00:00After taking home an Olympic gold medal four years earlier, there was a ton of pressure on the Soviets to
00:05do it again.
00:06But just how far one man was willing to go to secure gold for his team would change the sport
00:11of fencing forever.
00:13See, Boris Onoschenko was the king of the modern pentathlon, a five-event contest which includes pistol shooting, swimming, horse
00:20riding, cross-country running, and fencing.
00:22It was an event which suited him well. As a major in the Soviet army, the event, which is designed
00:27to simulate the experience of a 19th century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines, suited his military training.
00:33Boris and his Soviet teammates had already won team gold in 1972, and so, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Boris
00:41was eager to maintain the Soviet Union's dominance.
00:44In the fencing portion, Boris was phenomenal. He was outperforming everyone so easily that the other fencers started to think
00:50he must have been cheating,
00:51and they began to complain, insisting that the officials check his sword, known as an epee.
00:56See, in modern fencing, the epees are wired. When the tip of the sword gets pushed down with enough force,
01:01it completes an electrical circuit, triggering a light and registering a point.
01:05The theory was that Boris's sword must have been hypersensitive, registering soft touches or even near-misses as legitimate hits.
01:12But as the officials inspected his weapon, it passed. The sensitivity was normal. It seemed he really was just that
01:18much better than everyone else.
01:20However, when Boris came up against Great Britain's team, particularly their captain, Jim Fox, the tide began to turn.
01:26During one bout, Jim was convinced that Boris had scored a point without even making contact. The light had flashed,
01:33but Jim felt nothing.
01:34So, when Boris defeated him and prepared for his next match, the British team watched closely.
01:39Again, it seemed like Boris was registering hits without his sword even touching the opponent. Jim had had enough.
01:45He stormed out onto the strip, he ripped Boris's epee from him, and he handed it to the officials, demanding
01:50a full stripped-down inspection.
01:52But this time, the officials weren't just checking the sensitivity of the tip. They took apart the handle, and there
01:58it was. A small, cleverly concealed button.
02:01Boris had wired his epee so that he could manually trigger the scoring light himself. At any moment he chose,
02:08Boris Onoschenko was a cheater.
02:10When he returned to the Soviet Union, he was stripped of his rank, fined, and dishonorably discharged from the Soviet
02:16army.
02:16The international media had a field day, dubbing him Boris Dishonoschenko. And as for the British team who exposed him,
02:22they went on to win the gold.
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