A switch to politics has long been rumoured for the London-born rower - who won two Olympic golds in the noughties.
Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell has been chosen as the Tory candidate for Colchester in the next general election.
The Conservatives have a majority of 9,000 over Labour and local party chiefs said he was the right choice to take over from MP Will Quince, who's standing down."I think he will be a fantastic candidate and a great MP for Colchester. He will win because he is a guy who doesn't do losing." Cracknell won gold in the coxless fours at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and rowed alongside the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent.
The 51-year-old has previously been mentioned as a potential Conservative candidate and in 2014 stood to be an MEP for the party in southwest England. Cracknell is a regular on TV, presenting sports and undertaking various endurance challenges for charity - often alongside his friend Ben Fogle.
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