Cracknell, 47, pulls closer to breaking Boat Race record
THE Olympian rower James Cracknell has been training ahead of the Boat Race, after taking up a masters degree in philosophy at Cambridge University.
The 47-year-old oarsman was pictured dressed in the team’s light blue uniform as he trained on the River Great Ouse near Ely, Cambs.
The Cambridge crew will be officially announced next Thursday and, if selected, Cracknell will become the oldest man ever to compete in the race. He would eclipse Andy Probert, who was 38 when he coxed Cambridge in 1992, and Mike Wherley, who rowed for Oxford at 36 in 2008.
Cracknell, who has two Olympic gold medals – and whose former Olympic team-mate Sir Matthew Pinsent competed in the Boat Race as a student – would also become the most decorated man to row in the annual contest against Oxford, first held in 1829.
David Cameron’s former personal trainer, Matt Roberts said that competing in the Boat Race is “definitely not too strenuous” for somebody aged 47.
“There is no barrier or reason why he can’t do it. His body is conditioned enough to be able to cope with the exertion,” the celebrity fitness trainer told The Daily Telegraph.
“As we get older our tendons and ligaments are potentially less elastic, so there is higher risk of potential injury. But you would have discovered that al- ready in training. If he hits a wall in the race it will be because of the exertion – the same as anyone else in the team – not because of his age.”
Last year Cracknell wrote on Twitter that he was “honoured” to have been offered a place at Cambridge University. He added: “I’ll need the support of my amazing family to do the course & if I go for Boat Race selection support of old heart & lungs required #nevertooold.”
Cracknell has previously competed in Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race in which he teamed up with Ben Fogle. The pair have also rowed across the Atlantic Ocean and trekked across the
Arabian Desert.
He is also a successful distance runner, becoming the highest placed Briton ever in the Sahara’s Marathon des Sables in 2010 and completing the London Marathon in 2:43:12 in 2017.
In the past other older athletes have tried out for the Boat Race, including rugby player Andy Ripley, who missed getting a place in the Cambridge crew in 1998 when he was 50.
Last year Cambridge beat Oxford in all four races on the River Thames, including the men’s, women’s and both reserves. This year’s event is on April 7.