James Cracknell
Biography (by Chris Lyles)
Unwilling to get a ‘proper job’ in 2005 after retiring from a stellar rowing career that brought him two Olympic Gold Medals and six World Championship titles, James Cracknell has since distinguished himself as a very special sportsman-cum-adventurer.
After rowing the Atlantic Ocean with television presenter Ben Fogle, Cracknell (entirely under his own steam) rowed the English Channel, cycled down through France and Spain and then, accompanied by comedian David Walliams, swam the Strait of Gibraltar. It took Cracknell a mere 10 days to cover the 1,500 miles.
With Fogle and Dr Ed Coats, he also took part in the inaugural Amundsen Omega3 South Pole Race. Suffering from frost-bite, infected blisters, dramatic weight-loss, pneumonia and exhaustion, the team successfully traversed the 473.6 miles, finishing second only to a pair of Norwegian polar experts.
Among other achievements in the past five years, Cracknell has run a sub-three-hour marathon, set a world record for paddling the English Channel on a surf board and represented Britain for his age group in the European Triathlon Championships.
Cracknell, 37, is married to television presenter and journalist Beverley Turner, with whom he has two young children, and says that he is “completely honoured to be a judge in such a pioneering event as the Eurostar Tri-City-Athlon.”