I won two Olympic gold medals before getting stranded on a remote island… now I’m making my own way in new career

BRITISH rower Alexy Gregory was stranded on an Arctic island as his Polar Row team attempted a 1200-mile voyage.

The double Olympic gold medalist has turned from his professional career to smash a number of world records to raise funds to build a school in the Himalayas.

Getty Images - Getty

GB rower Alex Gregory was stranded on an Arctic island as his Polar Row team attempted a 1200-mile voyage[/caption]

Gregory is a double Olympic gold medalistNews Group Newspapers Ltd

Gregory and his crew decided to embark on an expedition across the Arctic Ocean from Tromso, Norway to Iceland via Svalbard and they set off on July 20.

But after enduring freezing conditions and constantly getting drenched they were forced to land on the tiny island of Jan Mayen, just 340 miles from their final destination in Iceland. 

Last night the Maritime & Coastguard Agency confirmed it had received an SOS. 

Icelandic athlete Fiann Paul led the team and also featured Britons Sam Vye and Danny Longman, and Americans Tyler Carnevale and Carlo Facchino.

The crew were attempting to smash a number of world records including being the first to row the ocean from south to north, as well as being the fastest and largest team to row in the Arctic.

But writing on his Facebook page on Saturday Gregory had to cut the trip short for his family.

He said: “The decision was both an easy one to make and an incredibly difficult one’.

“This isn’t easy though, we find ourselves on an island that is incredibly difficult to get on and off.

BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER

” We were lucky to find it and be allowed on, but getting off is nearly impossible unless you’re prepared to stay for months!

“It’s an easy decision because I want to get home to my family.  

“My three young children need their dad, they need him to be responsible and to make the right decisions in life. 

“They need him to be brave, adventurous, ambitious and to set them the right example, but they also need him to not take unnecessary risks.”

It is understood that Gregory and the stranded crew are being looked after by an 18-strong Norwegian military contingent based there.

The six-time world champion added: “Where there’s a chance, although slim, that he may not come home, the decision to stop has to be taken.

“The decision is simple. Some will see that as a failure, some will see that as not finishing the project, not reaching the ultimate goal, but I do not.”

He also said the team’s leader Paul, was now going to replace rowers who did not wish to continue.

Gregory had a glittering career for GB rowing and won the 2012 London Olympic Games gold medal in the Coxless four at Eton Dorney and again in Rio in 2016.