Allan Jay

Allan Jay was part of a golden age of British fencing that lasted from the mid-50s until the end of the next decade. Although born in England, Jay spent part of his childhood in Australia and won the team épée title at the 1950 British Empire Games as part of the Australian team. Soon after he returned to Britain to study law at Oxford University and won his first British title at the épée in 1952. His first Olympic appearance came in 1952 in Helsinki and three years later he was part of the British foil team that won a World Championships bronze medal in 1955

After narrowly missing on a pair of medals at the Melbourne Olympic Games he won a brace of bronze medals at the 1957 World Championships before, in 1959, becoming the first British man to date to became world champion at the foil. Jay won six medals, a gold, two silvers and three bronzes at the World Championships between 1955 and 1965. He also seven Commonwealth Games titles and six Maccabiah Games gold medals during his career. Jay, who worked as a solicitor, remained in the sport as an official with the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime and is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame since 1985.