Thomas James MBE (born 11 March 1984) is a British rower, twice Olympic champion and victorious Cambridge Blue.

James was born in Cardiff[2] and spent part of his childhood in Berlin, Germany as his father was an officer in the British Army,[3][4] but considers his hometown to be the village of Coedpoeth, near Wrexham.

Both universities had extremely strong intakes that year, with Cambridge boasting several world champions and the Oxford crew including Olympic silver medalist Barney Williams.

In a race where Cambridge were strong favourites based on the team members' individual successes, the light blues showed their class by staying in touch while Oxford had the advantage, and pushing on with tidier rowing from the halfway point.

James fell ill the night before the Heat in the Olympic competition – a devastating blow and whilst he returned for the repechage, the crew failed to make the final.

After taking a break from international rowing, James returned to the British Team in 2006, forming a pair with Oxford rival Colin Smith.

[13] He was then selected in the GB coxed four for the world championships in Munich, but was promoted to the bow seat of the eight when the original incumbent fell ill on the morning of the heats.

[15] At the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, James raced in the men's four with crew-mates Matt Langridge, Ric Egington and Alex Gregory winning a gold medal ahead of Greece in second and Australia in third.

[16][17] During the 2012 World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, James rejoined Gregory in the fours while Reed and Triggs Hodge were switched over from the pairs.

[19] For James, Reed and Triggs Hodge, it was their second gold medal in the category, following their win in Beijing four years prior.