WW2 bomb puts Boat Race in doubt
BOAT RACE organisers were facing a nervous wait last night to find out if a suspected unexploded World War Two bomb found near Putney Bridge could disrupt the annual event.
The device was found on the banks of the River Thames, a day before the 163rd Oxford v Cambridge race. It was submerged and a bomb disposal unit was expected to wait until the tide went out to take a better look at it, police said.
The Met said the organisers of the race had been informed, but that it was too early to say if it would be called off.
If it goes ahead, Oliver Cook is desperate to help younger brother Jamie shake off last year’s pain. Oliver, the 26-year-old world champion, watched from the Tideway as Oxford, with Jamie in their boat, were beaten by Cambridge.
This time he joins him in the boat and said: ‘Watching them lose was really difficult because I couldn’t do anything about it. I told myself then that I was going to make sure that if Jamie wanted to get back in a boat I’d be there to try and stop that from happening again.’
Jamie, who will be rowing in his third Boat Race, added: ‘You lose the race and it’s like something has just been ripped from you. I was devastated for a long time. It’s an awful feeling. You cross the finish line in complete silence.’
Also in the Oxford boat is William Warr, who rowed for Cambridge in 2015 and will become just the third man in the 188-year history of the event to have rowed for both universities.
The Cambridge old boy, now doing a PhD at Oxford, said: ‘It hasn’t been easy. It was a decision I had to make, but guys I was really close with now barely speak to me any more.
‘Some have said they really hope I lose, that they completely disagree with what I’m doing, which I understand.’
Meanwhile, the Cambridge women’s team’s male cox Matthew Holland, 18, believes he has a great chance of success in his first event at this level. ‘It’s not a question of what gender they are as much as how good they are. It’s the strongest and most exciting crew I’ve been a part of.’