Boat Race swimmer slams elitism

The swimmer arrested after bringing the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race to a dramatic halt has defended his anti-elitist stance.

Trenton Oldfield said he had been privately-educated for four years but left and went to a state school because he "couldn't stand the elitism".

The annual contest on Saturday was dubbed "possibly the most dramatic Boat Race in history" after the wet suit-clad swimmer was spotted in the vessels' path and the competition had to be restarted almost half an hour later.

Oldfield, who lives in a run-down block of flats in Myrdle Street, east London, has been charged with a public order offence and released on bail.

The 35-year-old posted a series of messages on Twitter today, saying: "With the severe deficit in democracy new sites of protest unfortunately have had to be found" and "if its jail time, so be it".

He added: "Still waiting for someone to show me when elitism (seeing oneself above another) hasn't lead to oppression and tyranny?"

The drama of Saturday's race continued when the blade of an Oxford oar broke and the crew's bowman Alex Woods collapsed at the end and was taken to hospital. Crew member Roel Haen said Dr Woods had now been released from hospital.

He wrote on Twitter: "Our bow-man and hero Alex Woods was released from the hospital this morning and is doing well."

Oldfield, an Australian who studied contemporary urbanism at the London School of Economics and says he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, has a website called Elitism Leads to Tyranny. He replied to a barrage of messages from both supporters and detractors.

Oldfield will appear at Feltham Magistrates' Court on April 23 charged with a Section Five offence under the Public Order Act, said Scotland Yard.

©Press Association