Oxford rower Leonard Jenkins has revealed how “too much poo” in the River Thames has affected the Boat Race this year.
In the annual clash between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, extraordinarily high levels of E. coli were discovered in the Thames.
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Oxford men’s team rower Jenkins revealed he vomited before the start of the race, with Cambridge ultimately claiming victory at the annual event.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “This morning I was throwing up and I wasn’t sure if I could run.
“It would be much better if there wasn’t so much poop in the water.
“That’s not to be taken away from Cambridge, because we might not have beaten them even if we were all fully fit.”
Thames Water has insisted that improving the health of rivers is a “key priority” for the company following unprecedented levels of sewage spills.
Earlier this week, Environment Agency figures revealed that raw sewage discharges had almost doubled since last year, from 1.75 million hours to 3.6 million hours.
This includes human waste, wet wipes and sanitary products, which pose risks to swimmers.
Boat racing crews had already been warned to avoid swallowing any water that might have fallen on them while rowing.
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And the tradition of throwing the winning coxswain into the river was abandoned because of sewage spills.
This sparked outrage among some fans and viewers on social media, who demanded action from the government.
One fan said: “This should be a source of shame for the government. The Thames is too full of sewage to dive into safely.”
A second suggestion: “Why not denounce the water companies as close to criminals and the government as incompetent in allowing this to happen. Yet another example of greed and myopic focus on shareholder primacy at the expense of society .”
And this viewer posted: “Message to the government following today’s boat race: CLEAN UP OUR RIVERS!”
A government spokesperson said sewage dumped into UK waters was “completely unacceptable and water companies must quickly put things in order”.
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