Activist swims in to disrupt annual Oxford-cambridge rowing race
BRITAIN: An Australian who disrupted England’s iconic OxfordCambridge boat race on the Thames has been granted bail and charged with a public disorder offence.
Trenton Oldfield will face the Feltham Magistrates’ Court on April 23, charged under the Public Order Act.
A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said the charge related to causing harassment, alarm or distress.
The 35-year-old Australian activist gave a warning of his protest online, calling it ‘‘elitismleadstotyranny’’.
‘‘This is a protest, an act of civil disobedience, a methodology of re- fusing and resistance,’’ he wrote.
‘‘This act has employed guerrilla tactics. I am swimming into the boats in the hope I can stop them from completing the race.
The Australian, who gave police an East London address, caused a half-hour hiatus in the race between England’s two oldest universities, which is now in its 158th year, in a stunt that will raise security questions in the leadup to the Olympics and the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
After the race was restarted, it was reported there was fresh chaos when the two crews clashed and one of the Oxford crew’s oars snapped.
Oldfield
appeared
to
have
a broad smile on his face when pulled out of the water by a lifeboat crew.
The two boats were about eight minutes into the race, with Oxford about a third of a length ahead, when Oldfield – wearing a wetsuit – swam in front of the two boats, and was nearly hit by the oars of the Oxford crew.