James Cracknell

James Cracknell OBE ( born May 5, 1972 in Sutton, United Kingdom) is a former British rower, two -time gold medal winner at the Olympic Games and today's adventurers.

Career as a rower

In his early career Cracknell took between 1991 and 1995 four times at the World Rowing Championships in part without winning a medal here. For the 1995 season, he moved temporarily from the belt -ins Skull stock. In his first Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, he took with Bob Thatcher in the double sculls in part and reached number 17

In the following season 1997 Cracknell moved back into the coxless four. Together with Matthew Pinsent, Sir Steven Redgrave and Tim Foster (1997 and 1998 ) and Ed Coode (1999) he made a very successful team and could be rowing world champion in a row three years. At the Summer Olympics in Sydney in 2000, the team won the gold medal in the coxless four.

Cracknell and Pinsent subsequently rose in the coxless pairs, as Redgrave after his fifth Olympic gold medal and also Foster ended their active careers and the four gold broke apart. The World Rowing Championships in 2001 in Lucerne, she won within one day the world title in the pairs with coxswain and two coxless, each with only a slight lead over the second placed boats. While they were able to repeat the world title in the pairs without coxswain at the following World Rowing Championships in 2002 in Seville, the success was in 2003. At the World Championships in Milan, they finished only fourth place, rising thereafter in view of the upcoming Olympic Summer Games 2004 in Athens back in the coxless four with Steve Williams and Alex Partridge, who was injured later replaced by Ed Coode. With a lead of just eight hundredths of a second Cracknell, Pinsent, Coode and Williams won the gold medal in Athens the previous world champion from Canada. Cracknell first interrupted after his active career as a rower. However, at a later continued it came to that.

For his achievements in rowing Cracknell was awarded the Order of Merit Member of the British Empire ( MBE) in 2000. 2004 after the second Olympic victory was followed by the award for the Office of the British Empire ( OBE). He started for the Leander Club in Henley -on-Thames.

Career as an adventurer

In winter 2005/ 06 Cracknell with the British TV presenter Ben episode took part in a two on Atlantic Rowing Race, a transatlantic rowing race. Fogle could hardly row at the start of the race. The ocean-going rowing boat "Spirit of EDF Energy " they were able to complete the 4700 km within 49 days, 19 hours and 8 minutes as the fastest two. As they were traveling capsized, however, and thus had to rely for drinking on the boat stored in the ballast water, they were set back in accordance with rules and counted as the second- placed team. The experiences of crossing the Atlantic have Cracknell and result in book The Crossing: Conquering the Atlantic published in the World 's thoughest Rowing Race.

Later he took with Ed Coats and turn Ben episode on " Amundsen Omega3 South Pole Race 2008 " in Antarctica in part. A distance of around 750 kilometers, was there to cover in competition with four other teams, and all the equipment had to be transported on sleds without tools. The BBC broadcast of the race a multi-part documentation.

Writings

• James Cracknell, Ben Fogle: The Crossing: Conquering the Atlantic in the World 's thoughest Rowing Race. Atlantic Books, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-84354-512-5.