Trenton Oldfield after he was pulled from the River Thames PIC: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

London Thames boat race man Trenton Oldfield due in court

Dominic Gover , Senior reporter Wednesday, May 23, 2012
7:57 AM

The swimmer who brought the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race to a dramatic halt is due to appear in court today.

Trenton Oldfield, 36, caused chaos by swimming out into the path of the boats in a protest against elitism at the Chiswick Eyot, on April 23.

He is due to plea at Isleworth Crown Court in west London on a charge of public nuisance.

Oldfield was previously banned from the State opening of parliament and from places where Jubilee events were taking place.

He was also not allowed within 100 metres of roads on the Olympic torch route.

Oldfield sparked scenes of chaos when he swam towards the boats as they were neck and neck between the two and three-mile markers.

The race was restarted nearly half an hour later, with Cambridge sealing an easy victory.

Oldfield, of Myrdle Street, east London, later defended his anti-elitist stance online.

“With the severe deficit in democracy new sites of protest unfortunately have had to be found” and “if its jail time, so be it (sic),” he wrote.

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

Oldfield’s antics inspired a spoof video which played on the rhyming of his name Trenton, with that of out-of-control dog Fenton in Richmond Park.

Audio from that 2011 YouTube viral hit plays over footage Oldfield swimming into the Thames.

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