FOUR months ago rower Vince Kerrigan lay dead on a river bank.

His heart had stopped and a medical crew was trying to save him with the kiss of life and a defibrillator.

Luckily, the emergency first aid worked, and now the 63-year-old is back in his boat and winning gold medals.

Mr Kerrigan, of Wallingford Rowing Club, suffered a heart attack while competing in the veterans Head of the River race on the River Thames in London.

Despite his crewmates’ frantic efforts to save his life after hauling him out of the boat on to the muddy riverbank, his heart stopped beating.

Only emergency first aid from lifeboatmen who rushed to the scene brought him back to life.

He said: “I was officially dead. I owe my life to the RNLI who came to my rescue. Thanks to their defibrillator, they got my heart working again.”

Crewmates Andy Millar, Anthony Cooke-Yarborough and Pieter van Vrede were in the boat with Mr Kerrigan when he started to complain of heartburn.

Mr Millar, who was trained as a doctor, realised something was seriously wrong.

He said: “I grabbed his wrist and was horrified to feel a rapidly fading pulse and a cold, clammy feel to his skin.”

The crew hauled him on to the bank and tried to keep him alive with cardiac massage until emergency crews could arrive.

Mr Kerrigan added: “I cannot remember any of this, but I dread to think who was giving me the kiss of life.

“The next thing I remember is being in the ambulance. I felt fine and cracked a joke about wanting something to eat.”

He was in hospital for just 48 hours after his collapse. Medics told him his heart was fine, and the problem had been with a separate major artery.

Within a month he was back at work, and within two months he was back training on the water.

Now he has won gold as part of an eight-strong crew competing in a veterans race at the Abingdon Spring Head regatta.

His only concession to his condition is to wear a heart-rate monitor, which means rowing in glasses so he can note the readings. He said: “We still get on very well, despite my attention-seeking exploits, all thanks to the RNLI.”

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk