James Cracknell

Biography

James Cracknell OBE is a double Olympic rowing champion, world record holder, all-round 'action man' and one of Britain's most inspirational sporting heroes! We're extremely honoured that he's accepted our invitation to be an official Ambassador for the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon.

Masters graduate James has won no less than five gold medals in the World Rowing Championships, and won his first Olympic gold medal in Sydney 2000 as part of Britain's coxless four rowing team. At the 2002 World Championships in Seville, along with rowing partner Matthew Pinsent, he smashed the world record for the coxless pairs by four seconds, and in 2004 he repeated his Olympic success again in Athens.

After retiring from Olympic rowing, James has gone on to be a TV presenter, writes for the Daily Telegraph and raises money for charity by taking part in all kinds of physical challenges such as, for example, singled-handedly paddling across the English Channel on a surfboard! He was also part of the team that won the fund-raising 'Mark Webber Challenge', a gruelling 600km trek, which pushes participants to their mental and physical limits as they walk, run, cycle and kayak through the extremely inhospitable wilderness of Tasmania.

The most astounding feat of endurance James has undertaken to date was when he completed the mammoth task of rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, with TV presenter Ben Fogle! The BBC made a documentary series all about this amazing expedition called 'Through Hell and High Water'.

James actively supports the promotion of sport, fitness and self development around the world, and as ambassador for our Half Marathon we hope he'll prove to be a source of motivation and inspiration for everyone taking part in the run.

James says...

"We are really lucky to have the Royal Parks and we have to use them. I do lots of running in the parks and it's great to see so many people training in a big outdoor space in London. It makes people make the most of the city"