James Cracknell is stuck on the roadside as his car runs out of fuel 300m from a petrol station

James Cracknell was stuck on the roadside after running out of fuel just 300 metres from a petrol station on Monday.

The double gold medallist, 48, was seen by the side of the road in south London before topping up his Mercedes sports car with fuel from a plastic canister.

As James busied himself with refuelling his vehicle, London buses waited patiently to pass by him.

Oh dear! Olympic rower James Cracknell was left red-faced after running out of fuel just 300 metres from a petrol station on Monday

MailOnline have contacted representatives of James for comment.  

In recent years James has become synonymous for his gruelling endurance challenges.

He regularly dishes out advice and tips to other extreme sports athletes on the most effective ways of fuelling the body ahead of his missions, which have included rowing across the Atlantic, racing to the South Pole and trekking across the Arabian Desert. 

Last year James, who used to consume 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day while he was a rower, became the oldest competitor in the history of the University Boat Race when he was selected as part of the victorious Cambridge crew.

Not ideal: The double gold medalist, 48, was seen stuck by the side of the road in South London before topping up his Mercedes sports car with fuel from a plastic canister

He admits suffering a near fatal brain injury when he was hit by a truck while cycling across America for a TV programme in 2010 spurred him on to take on such extreme challenges in a bid to prove he ‘is still ok’.

However, he suffered rare misfortune in a competitive environment months later when he became the first contestant to be voted off the 2019 series of Strictly Come Dancing, eventually won by former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher.

He admitted his early exit hit his ‘self esteem’  given how used he is to winning.

James won Olympic golds in 2000 and 2004 and also has a further six gold World Championship medals.

Awkward: In recent years James has become synonymous for his gruelling endurance challenges (pictured in October 2019) 

Tough: In June, he admitted his self-confidence had been lifted after a difficult 2 months ‘coping with divorce and family’ as he broke the British indoor rowing marathon record 

The sports star is currently dating American girlfriend Jordan Connell, 35, after splitting from wife of 17 years Beverley Turner, 47, last year.

The former couple share children Croyde, 16, Kiki, 11, and nine-year-old Trixie.  

In June, James emotionally admitted his self-confidence had been lifted after a difficult 2 months ‘coping with divorce and family’ as he broke the British indoor rowing marathon record.

He broke the record with a time of 2 hours 30 minutes and 37 seconds, shaving two minutes off the existing record. 

Over: His caption nodded to his highly-publicised marital struggles, having divorced from Beverley Turner in March 2019, after 17 years of marriage (pictured in September 2016)

In an emotional post to his Instagram page, the double Olympic gold medalist thanked his followers for their support, admitting it also helped him cope with his personal struggles.

Sharing a broken picture of himself, exhausted, slumped over his rowing machine, the athlete captioned the snap: ‘Setting/achieving a goal & the support has given my self-confidence a lift after coping with divorce/family/work over the last 2 mths!’

His caption nodded to his highly-publicised marital struggles, having divorced from ex Beverley in March 2019. 

Beverley has since moved on with  James Pritchett, 32, with the radio presenter recently sharing a gushing tribute to her ‘calm, thoughtful and patient’ boyfriend. 

Loved-up: James starting dating his current girlfriend Jordan Connell, 35, a year after splitting from television presenter Beverley, whom he shares three children with