James Cracknell

James Cracknell, English rower

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Born: May 5, 1972
Age in 2026: 54
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Birth year: 1972

About James Cracknell

James Edward Cracknell, is a British rowing and endurance athlete, double Olympic gold medalist and winner of six world championship titles. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List. In 1997, he won a seat in the men's coxless fours, with Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Tim Foster. With this crew, he won the World Rowing Championships in 1997, 1998 and 1999 (with Ed Coode replacing the injured Foster), and finally the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. The pair won the World Championships in 2001, when they also won the coxed pairs, and 2002. Ed Coode replaced the injured Partridge in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics and this crew won the gold medal in Athens, beating world champions Canada by 0.08s.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

James Cracknell timeline

1997In 1997, he won a seat in the men's coxless fours, with Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and Tim Foster.
1997With this crew, he won the World Rowing Championships in 1997, 1998 and 1999 (with Ed Coode replacing the injured Foster), and finally the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
2001The pair won the World Championships in 2001, when they also won the coxed pairs, and 2002.
2004Ed Coode replaced the injured Partridge in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics and this crew won the gold medal in Athens, beating world champions Canada by 0.08s.
2005Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List.

The world when James Cracknell was born

James Cracknell was born in 1972. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1972

#1 song"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Roberta Flack
Top movieThe Godfather
Top TV showAll in the Family
Best-selling bookJonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentMark Spitz wins 7 gold medals at Munich Olympics
Top headlineWatergate break-in begins Nixon's downfall
Technology milestoneAtari founded
Defining fadPong (first mainstream video game)
Notable inventionPong video game
World population3.85 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
U.S. population209.9M

1972 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in James Cracknell's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1972	2026
Gas	$0.36	$3.45/gal
Average home	$19,800	$435,000
Average income	$12,600	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.60	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$1.70	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.08	$0.73
Population	209.9M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.