James Cracknell, 47, is paired up with Luba Mushtuk, 29, on the BBC series of Strictly Come Dancing. The British athlete has since revealed he had to undergo rigorous psychological tests as a result of his brain injury because the show bosses needed him to be “mentally strong” for the criticism he may face from the judging panel. James told The Mail On Sunday: “I had to have more tests because of my injury. They wanted to make sure that I was OK to go on. “They had to check I was well enough and able to cope with the hours that are required to take part, and also that I would be mentally strong enough to deal with the judges who, let’s face it, would have no choice but to judge me fairly and that might not always be nice.”
He added: “I know I was tested more psychologically than some others, which I am grateful to Strictly for.”
It comes after the Olympic gold medallist was in a cycling accident, where he collided with a petrol tanker, leaving him with a brain injury.
He developed epilepsy after he fractured his skull and suffered bruising to the brain when a truck hit his bike outside Winslow in Arizona in 2010.
The contestant also opened up about his injury in last night’s episode in footage from their training this week.
Luba asked: “How did you feel about our performance on Saturday night?” following comments from the judges he seemed to be concentrating too much instead of giving himself to the performance.
“I think the way I process information is that I’m very logical about it and I had accident a few years ago,” James replied, before going on to detail the events.
Revealing how the brain injury impacts him, the Strictly star added: “I had to concentration the brain injury, on the frontal lobe, which is part of learning and personality and how you process information.
“People are always setting limits on what you will do in the future and you have to prove them wrong.
“This is the first thing I have done that is not in my comfort zone and it does not come naturally,” the athlete explained.
James took to the dance floor for his second performance on Strictly Come Dancing last night, where he performed a Jive.
The athlete only managed to improve his score by two points from last week’s mark of 11, where the couple found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard once again.
Fans flocked to social media to comment on his performance with Luba, with many championing the British star.
One person said: “He may not be the best dancer, but to be on Strictly after such a severe brain injury takes a lot of bravery and courage. Bravo, James Cracknell #Strictly.”
Another person commented: “I worked in acquired brain injury rehab for a long time. I am SO rooting for James Cracknell – he’s an all round legend, but this could be one of his hardest challenges #Strictly.”
While a third person added: “I’m routing for James Cracknell to score higher this week. I didn’t realise he had a brain injury not long ago. Bound to make performing tough. #Strictly.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2019 continues tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One.