Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell has today hit back at his estranged wife Beverley Turner's 'exaggerated' claims that his decision to take part in the Boat Race wrecked their marriage and said his efforts 'pay the bills'.
Cracknell claimed the 'complex' separation was 'a long time coming' and was nothing to do with the Boat Race or the 2010 brain injury that almost killed him, adding that 'rowing is easy' compared to marriage.
But the father-of-three admitted his successful attempt to become the oldest winner of the race at 46 was a 'selfish pursuit' and told the Telegraph that he has since realised 'there's much more to life than mucking about in a boat'.
It comes after his ex, 45, said he 'abandoned' his family in a candid takedown of their relationship yesterday, adding he had never been the same since suffering a head injury when hit by a truck in the US nine years ago.
She also described Cracknell's claims he was doing the Boat Race at 46 to show his children they can 'do anything they put their mind to' as 'b******s' and said his gruelling training was nothing more than 'dereliction of parenting and marital duty'.
The couple 'quietly separated' last year and announced the news in a joint statement just days before the race saying they were focused on bringing up son Croyde, 15, and daughters Kiki, ten, and Trixie, eight.
James Cracknell, right, has hit back at claims by estranged wife Beverley Turner, left, that his training for the Boat Race wrecked their marriage
James Cracknell grins with delight after finishing the Boat Race on Sunday. Hours later he was rocked by claims his training put an unbearable strain on his marriage
The Olympian admitted his efforts to compete in the boat race, which saw him leave the family home in London for a student flat in Cambridge, were a 'selfish pursuit'.
'Now the race is over, I realise there's much more to life than mucking about in a rowing boat. The last few months, with everything that has been going on at home, has put that into perspective for me. Rowing and sport aren't the most important things in life. But to [achieve in sport], you do have to be a single-minded person.'
He added: 'There's this perception that I've left my family to go off to Cambridge, selfishly, but that's a little exaggerated. And while yes, it may seem selfish, it also pays the bills.'
Cracknell became the oldest winner of the competition when he helped Cambridge to victory over Oxford on Sunday.
Beverley Turner with two of the former couple's children Croyde and Kiki
He was eligible for the Cambridge team after enrolling on a masters course in human evolution, and he claimed this was because he wanted to 'try other things' and had not even considered entering the Boat Race at this time last year.
In his own candid interview, Cracknell describes his life as a three-legged stool made up of his family, his studies and Boat Race training, admitting it was his family who suffered.
But he claims that in the time between his 2010 accident and the Boat Race he was around more and that people focus on his training and sporting exploits more than they do on 'the family stuff'.
He added: 'We've been together for 20 years and I challenge any couple who have been together that long to say they're the same people they were when they met. Marriage is complicated and hard, whether you're an athlete or not. I know my behaviour is probably quite frustrating to live with, but I hope I have some good qualities too.'
Beverley watched the Boat Race from a friend's home with her children rather than taking them to see his triumph.
In her account of the break-up, published in The Times, she wrote: 'The kids needed to see that this enormous family sacrifice wasn't entirely in vain.
'James has spoken publicly about this latest feat, demonstrating to his children that you can do anything you set your mind to.
'He won't mind me admitting I consider that b******s. I wouldn't want my children to view such an exit from familial responsibilities as something to aspire to.'
James Cracknell was seen heading to a gym in London on Monday, a day after his Boat Race triumph. His estranged wife Beverley Turner was also in the mood for keeping fit. Both have now had their say on their break-up, with Cracknell claiming it was 'more complex' than him leaving to go to Cambridge
She also detailed not just the impact of life after a brain injury , but also how the strain of being an Olympic calibre sportsman — and of being married to one — took its toll.
In the article, Beverley wrote of fearing the 'dreadful example' they were setting their children of married life, of her deep-rooted fear of being 'ground down', and of the 'absolute dereliction of parenting and marital duty' that training for the Boat Race had entailed — along with details of 'snapping, sighing, arguing and slamming doors'.
While she said their relationship was — and still is — one built on 'mutual respect and admiration', she also chronicled behaviour that anyone can see would put strain on a marriage.
She wrote: 'When James spent 50 days rowing across the Atlantic with Ben Fogle in 2005, he failed to discuss his plans with me in any detail despite us having a two-year-old son.
'The difference in 2018 was whether I could reasonably live with these exhausting, self-centred pursuits for the rest of my life. I prefer the journey to the destination . . . James is all about the target.'
James and Beverley pictured on their wedding day in 2002
She insisted she does not put the end of their marriage solely down to his personality changes. She admitted that it had not been perfect before his brain injury because of the frustrations which can arise from being married to an 'extremely driven man'.
'As any woman will admit, there comes a time when you are sick of waking up alone on holiday because these alpha males are already at the laptop or on the rowing machine,' she said.
'Twice we went to Barbados and James spent three hours a day on the running machine inside the hotel. Most women want a partner to drink Buck's Fizz with on the beach. We don't want a man who's fitting in gym sessions around kids' club hours.'
The broadcaster, herself once a competitive swimmer, also revealed that she had been 'sure he would fail' to compete in the Boat Race, as it was 'ludicrous to think he could regain the strength and stamina required to sit alongside 20-year-old rowers'.
In the piece, Beverley also wrote candidly about the impact of her husband's accident.
In 2010, just after becoming the highest placed Briton ever in the gruelling Marathon des Sables, Cracknell nearly died. He was cycling across America, on another endurance challenge, when he was hit by the wing mirror of a petrol tanker travelling at speed.
It caused his brain to slam forward, crushing the frontal lobes — the part of the brain that controls personality. He was put into an induced coma,
