Sport: February 2008 Archives

The annual effort encouraging us to wake up and deal with African poverty is nigh. Sport Relief runs from the 14th to the 16th of March and there is a notable Olympian attempting something extraordinary. Bob ‘give us your f@&%ing money’ Geldof and ‘comedian’ Lenny Henry are resting up for Red Nose Day 2009. 

So cometh the even year, cometh the man. James Cracknell,  the double Olympic gold medalist, is attempting a new world record. He's going to row from Dover to Cap Griz Nez near Calais, then cycle 1400 miles to Spain’s most southerly point, Isla De Tarifa, and then swim the Gibraltar Straits to Morocco. So, England to Africa by man power alone. 

“I’m aiming to show how close Africa is to the UK by getting there in less than a week. Africa is not a place on the other side of the world, it's on our doorstep.” 

The man is a machine, clearly  incredibly competitive, and perhaps his own biggest rival. His currency is winning, and even though his gold medal years are behind him, Cracknell will be wielding his superpowers once again. This time, though, he won’t be crushing the dreams of Oympic upstarts, but rather forcing his will onto a nation such that they might act on a simple truth: Ignoring Africa is unacceptable. This attempt is a measure of the man and of the power of sport. 

See www.challengecracknell.com for progress reports.