Olympic rower James Cracknell, 50, enters race to become Tory candidate for Boris Johnson’s old seat of Henley at next general election
Olympic rower James Cracknell has entered the race to become the Tory candidate in Henley at the next general election.
Cracknell, 50, said he would be ‘honoured’ to run in any seat, but that the Oxfordshire town has ‘a special place in my heart’.
The double Olympic gold medallist, pictured, has rowed from Henley since he was 18, and is a member of the town’s prestigious Leander Rowing Club.
Cracknell said it would be a ‘humbling honour’ to represent Henley and he would seek selection from local members.
‘I rowed there from when I was 18, bought my first house in the town and had my first child when I lived there,’ he told The Sunday Telegraph.
James Cracknell, 50, said he would be ‘honoured’ to run in any seat, but that the Oxfordshire town has ‘a special place in my heart’
He pledged to focus on the ‘challenges’ in the area if he is selected and elected, including ‘a lack of affordable housing’
‘So many of my best personal and professional memories are from my time in Henley.’
He pledged to focus on the ‘challenges’ in the area if he is selected and elected, including ‘a lack of affordable housing, job opportunities in the town and a rail line that is still not electric’.
Cracknell’s rowing success included winning gold at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics in Sydney and Athens.