Two times Olympic gold medalist, James Cracknell, has been seriously injured in a horror bike crash in Arizona. James was in the middle of filming an endurance challenge, which was to include a 280mile bike ride from Santa Monica to Death Valley, an 80mile run through the trainer melting valley, then back on to the bike for a 2500mile ride up route 66 to Lake Erie before finishing it of with a 15mile swim down the Hudson River - the challenge, called 'James Cracknell takes on America', was to be filmed by the Discovery channel.

In an article in the Telegraph James' wife, Beverly Turner, said: "Ironically I’d spent years worrying that James would come a cropper in a reckless, extreme adventure and plunge down an icy crevasse in some remote wilderness, but it was a road traffic accident in the United States that had left him with a fractured skull and damage to his brain". To read the full article click here.

James is an immensely popular figure in the triathlon world having competed in many domestic events and for Great Britain at age-group level.

The team at Tri247 wish James a speedy recover and hope to see him back on the racing circuit next year.