Trenton Oldfield, the protester who disrupted the Oxford and Cambridge Boat race last year, has dropped his appeal to reduce his six month prison sentence.
The 36-year-old, who is from Australia but currently living in East London, sabotaged the race in April by swimming into the paths of rowers, causing it to be halted and restarted. The race, which was watched by millions on television, was won by Cambridge after being restarted.
In October, Oldfield was sentenced to six months imprisonment for causing a public nuisance, and ordered to pay £750 in costs. Judge Anne Molyneux said that he had acted dangerously, disproportionately, displayed prejudice and showed no regret for his actions, and that he had ruined the race for everyone. Although he was due to challenge his sentence in court this week, a Judicial Office spokeswoman has since confirmed that Oldfield has withdrawn his application.
Oldfield said he was protesting against elitism and government cuts, and saw the race as symbolic of issues around class. His supporters compare him to the Pussy Riot demonstrators in Russia and say that he has been treated unfairly. On the day of his court hearing his wife said that his protest was ‘a reaction to an increasingly brutal business, media and political elite.’
Although four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent said that Oldfield could have been seriously injured, Oldfield suggested that as an Australian, he was used to dodging surfboards, rocks and boats, and so was not at risk.
Oldfield claims that government ministers lobbied the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to ensure that the original charge was altered to increase the likelihood that he would be sent to prison.
Alastair Billing, a student at Oxford Brookes, said Oldfield shouldn’t have to go to jail ‘I mean what he did was moronic but it wasn’t exactly illegal.’
Ryan Flanagan, a third year Balliol student commented, ‘Appealing in the first place shows how arrogant he is, dropping the appeal makes him even more arrogant.’
