James Cracknell admits his self-confidence has been lifted after 'coping with divorce and family' - Money

On Saturday, James Cracknell broke the British indoor rowing marathon record with a time of 2 hours 30 minutes and 37 seconds, shaving two minutes off the existing record.

And in an emotional post to his Instagram page on Sunday, the double Olympic gold medalist, 48, thanked his followers for their support, admitting it also helped him cope with his personal struggles.

Sharing a broken picture of himself, exhausted, slumped over his rowing machine, the athlete captioned the snap: ‘Setting/achieving a goal & the support has given my self-confidence a lift after coping with divorce/family/work over the last 2 mths!’

Smashed it! On Saturday, James Cracknell broke the British indoor rowing marathon record with a time of 2 hours 30 minutes and 37 seconds, shaving two minutes off the existing record

Having worked with the charity Headway UK – the UK-wide organisation working to improve life after brain injury – James added: ‘‪I want to give a heartfelt thanks for people’s support of @headway_uk & me yesterday.‬ Thank you & take care‬!’

James suffered a brain injury in 2010 when he was hit on the head from behind by a petrol tanker whilst on a bicycle during an attempt to cycle, row, run and swim from Los Angeles to New York within 18 days.

The crash could have killed him, but he was wearing a helmet, which he says saved his life.

He did, however, suffer a contrecoup injury to the frontal lobes of his brain, leaving him with epilepsy and a changed personality, including a short temper.

Good one, James! In an emotional post to his Instagram page on Sunday, the double Olympic gold medalist, 48, thanked his followers for their support, admitting it also helped him cope with his personal struggles

Directly after completing the challange on Saturday, he uploaded another exhausted-looking photo, captioning this: ‘Thanks for the support & donations to @HeadwayUK it was truly humbling. Broke the record, don’t think my body or butt will ever forgive me. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend everyone. #offtobed’

At the time of writing, James has raised £9,217 – initially aiming to raise £3,000 for the charity.

The one-time Strictly Come Dancing star took on the challenge on his rowing machine at home, on his balcony, where he has been documenting his training regime in the run-up to the challenge over the past few weeks.

His caption nodded to his highly-publicised marital struggles, having divorced from ex Beverley Turner in March last year, after 17 years of marriage. The couple share children Croyde, 16, Kiki, 11, and nine-year-old Trixie.

Champ! At the time of writing, James has raised £9,217 – initially aiming to raise £3,000 for the charity

Training: The athlete took on the challenge on his rowing machine at home, on his balcony, where he has been documenting his training regime in the run-up to the challenge over the past few weeks

Survivor: James suffered a brain injury in 2010 when he was hit on the head from behind by a petrol tanker whilst on a bicycle during an attempt to cycle, row, run and swim from Los Angeles to New York within 18 days

The couple were granted a divorce after she petitioned for it on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour, which he did not oppose.

The pair, however, have ensured their split has remained amicable for the sake of their three children, with Beverley admitting she was considering letting the rower move back in during the lockdown period – something he didn’t end up doing.

This came as somewhat of a shock to some, after Beverley eviscerated her ex in a newspaper article, writing that his decision to go to Cambridge University to study full-time in his 40s, and to then train, take part and ultimately win the 2019 annual Boat Race [becoming the oldest man to do so] was ‘an absolute dereliction of parenting and marital duty’.

Directly after completing the challange on Saturday, he said: ‘Thanks for the support & donations to @HeadwayUK it was truly humbling. Broke the record, don’t think my body or butt will ever forgive me. Thanks so much. Have a great weekend everyone. #offtobed’

Accomplishment! He trained, took part and ultimately won the 2019 annual Boat Race [becoming the oldest man to do so] for Cambridge University

He told MailOnline in an interview late last year: ‘That ferocity, when it’s in your corner, is great. That was one of the things I was attracted to and loved her for.

‘I wouldn’t have made the recovery I have without her fire. It’s not so nice when it’s not in your corner, but you can’t fall in love with an opinionated woman and then moan when she has an opinion.

‘It hurts but it’s on me as well. I wasn’t the best husband in the world. I wanted to go to Cambridge to get academic credibility for the work I was doing in public health

Ex: His caption nodded to his highly-publicised marital struggles, having divorced from ex Beverley Turner in March last year, after 17 years of marriage. The couple share children Croyde, 16, Kiki, 11, and nine-year-old Trixie

Short-lived: The one-time Strictly Come Dancing star became the first of 2019’s crop of celebrity contestants to be voted off the show after achieving the lowest ever score in Strictly history for his jive with partner Luba Mushtuk

‘Beverley didn’t share my desire for me to go into politics. I don’t think she liked the idea of being a politician’s wife. Going to Cambridge was a last-chance saloon, in my head, to get her to see me away from the prism of the accident, but it was a bit late for our marriage.’

He went on: ‘One of the best things about going to Cambridge was, let’s face it, a lot of the students weren’t born when I won the Olympics. I really enjoyed meeting people who took me as I am.

When I went to Cambridge, I had the mindset our marriage could be mended. There hadn’t been any infidelity, we didn’t hate each other and we had three kids so, in my head, it wasn’t entirely broken.’