Oxford rower Lenny Jenkins has revealed that he threw up just hours before the Boat Race and complained about the 'poo in the water' as Cambridge comfortably won both the men's and women's runs.
The build-up to the 169th Boat Race was dominated by worrying reports of high E coli levels recorded across the 4.2-mile course.
The winning team traditionally throw their cox into the water as part of their celebrations, but they were warned against doing so this time around.
River Action campaign group found an average of 2,869 E coli colony forming units (CFU) per 100ml of water - almost three times the level deemed safe.
Oxford lost to Cambridge in both races
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It led to concerns about the health of the rowers with the race day still going ahead.
Cambridge were able to put the concerns to one side as they thrashed Oxford in both races.
But Jenkins has revealed that some of his fellow Oxford rowers fell ill due to the contaminated water across the Thames and suggested it had a role to play in their defeat.
“I don’t really have any words. We had a really clear plan of what we wanted to do and we had a really good setup for that – the last couple of days have been amazing.
"The boys have taken another step on and then for some reason it just didn’t come together on the day. That’s really disappointing.
“It’s been a great battle with the guys, everybody’s put everything into it and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
"It’s a shame the results didn’t show that, but Cambridge showed their class, they’re a top group of athletes. They did to us what we wanted to do to them.
“I really didn’t expect it to be such a big difference [between the two teams].
Cambridge were able to comfortably beat Oxford
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"I will also say – and this is in no way to take away from Cambridge – that we’ve had a few guys go down pretty badly with E coli strain.
"This morning I was throwing up and I wasn’t sure if there was going to be chance of me being in the boat, but I ultimately kept that quiet and that’s on my shoulders.
"I’m not sure if that was the right choice as I really didn’t have much to give.
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Competitors were advised against making contact with the water
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"It would have been taking one of the top guys out of Isis [the Oxford reserve boat] and ruining their chances.
"It would have been ideal to not have so much poo in the water.
“That’s not to take away from Cambridge. They are a talented crew and I don’t know if we would have had a chance to get them even if we were on form. So it’s in no way to make excuses.”
