The 158th edition of the historic Oxford-Cambridge boat race was interrupted Saturday by a protester who jumped into the Thames River and swam in front of the boats, causing a restart in the race.
35-year-old anti-elitist Trenton Oldfield was arrested on a public order offense for temporarily stopping the race. Oldfield, who was nearly decapitated by the oars, claims his actions were of civil disobedience.
“I am swimming into the boats in the hope I can stop them from completing the race and proposing the return of surprise tactics,” he reportedly wrote on a blog post.
Oxford was leading the race prior to the restart, but Cambridge was came out victorious. Oxford lost a paddle when oars for the two teams collided, and that led to their loss, which they are appealing.
Oldfield’s protest wasn’t the only issue to occur during the race; Oxford crew member Alex Woods was rushed out of the boat to receive medical attention after collapsing at the end of the race.
Below is a video of Oldfield in police custody:
Karl Hudspith, the Oxford Boat Club president, was fuming with anger toward Oldfield after the race. He wrote the following on Twitter:
Finally to Trenton Oldfiled; my team went through seven months of hell, this was the culmination of our careers and you took it from us.
— Karl Hudspith (@OubcPresident) April 7, 2012
