Oxford rower says crew were sick with E. coli before they lost boat race

An Oxford boat race crew member has told how he and several of the team had fallen ill with an E. coli infection before they lost to Cambridge in today’s race.

Oxford were bookmakers favourite to win, but Cambridge clinched victory by a comfortable margin.

Race officials advised teams to avoid avoid contact with the water during the race after a recent inspection found high levels of E coli bacteria in the Championship Course, which is located on the River Thames in London.

Leonard Jenkins told how he and the team had been very sick – and he nearly pulled out of the race over fear he was too ill to compete in it.

He said while it would have been ideal to not have “so much poo in the water” he was not making excuses for the loss and he does not know if Oxford could have beaten Cambridge even if they were “all on form” because “they are a talented crew”.

He told BBC Sport. “We had a clear plan of what we wanted to do. We had a really good set up, the last couple of days have been amazing. It didn’t come together on the day, that’s disappointing. But I couldn’t be prouder of the guys. It’s been a great battle.

“It’s a shame the results doesn’t suit that, Cambridge showed their class and did to us what we wanted to do for them. Maybe experience [was the difference]? I’m not sure.

“This morning I was throwing up and I really wasn’t sure there was a chance for me to be in the boat. I kept that quiet, that’s on my shoulders. I’m not sure if that was the right choice because I didn’t feel like I had much to give. But it would have been taking one of the top guys out of Isis [name of the Oxford reserve rowing team] and ruining their chances.”

Tests near Hammersmith Bridge, which is located on the course, showed an average level of E. coli was nearly three times higher than the Environment Agency’s quality standards for bathing in inland water.

Cambridge took the lead early on, even as both teams were warned in the opening minutes for oar clashes.

The Cambridge crew emerged comfortably ahead soon after and ultimately held on even as stroke Matt Edge looked at the verge of collapse in the dying minutes of the race. The win is the university’s fifth in the last six races.

“No one ever backed off for a single second,” said Cambridge boat club president, Sebastian Benzecry, who rowed his last race on Saturday.

Cambridge’s also won the women’s race – meaning the university secured a double victory against Oxford for a second year in a row

Oxford’s women, widely touted as favourites to win this year, had a flying start but were overtaken in about 10 minutes and ultimately failed to turn the tide against Cambridge who went on to notch their seventh straight victory.

Oxford cox Joe Gellett appealed against the final result at the end of the race, contending that the Cambridge boat had got in their way mid-race.

But umpire Richard Phelps ultimately dismissed the claim on the basis that Oxford had instead drifted into Cambridge’s station and bumped their boat.

Neither the men or the women’s teams dunked their cox into the Thames as is tradition due to the E Coli warning.

The four mile course, more than three times the length of a standard Olympic race, is one of the world’s oldest amateur sporting events.