Get Well Soon James, We're All Behind You!

Sportsvibe's thoughts are today with our good friend James Cracknell who lies in an American hospital after being hit by a truck during his bike ride across America.

The good news is that he has miraculously survived. The bad news is that it may take quite a while for James to make a full recovery from his head injuries. I have known James for 12 years, ever since I joined the GB coxless fours rowing crew in 1998 to train and to compete with and against. James was very much the junior member back then, at least compared to Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent, but I liked him from the moment we met. He was full of intensity - something that hasn't changed even with the mellowing of age - and that is one of the reasons why he went on to win two Olympic gold medals.

But he was also a genuine, good bloke, who has always been friendly and charming to myself and my wife over the subsequent years whenever we have met up. James is a restless character, hence his wanderlust and various adventures since retiring from rowing. It is a minor miracle that something hasn't happened to him before, bearing his mind his Atlantic rowing, polar expeditions and other jaunts. Now something has, although the early reports suggest that he should make a full recovery, in time. Sportsvibe cannot wait for that day and, in the meantime, send James, his lovely wife Beverley, and his two small children our very best wishes.