Pinsent Says All Correct Choices

Boat Race reserve umpire Sir Matthew Pinsent says it was correct to continue racing in spite of a rogue swimmer and a broken Oxford oar that gave Cambridge victory.

Multiple Olympic gold medallist Pinsent, who pointed out the swimmer to umpire John Garrett, said after the incident-packed158th race: "I think any race official, your first priority is safety, both for the competitors and the public at large.

"As soon as it was obvious to us that there was a guy swimming in the water then it's no choice; you stop the race because a rowing shell probably moves at 15-18 miles an hour. It would be almost a lethal blow to someone's head if they are in the water and that's unthinkable."

The swimmer was detained by police, although it was not immediately clear whether he was a protestor or a joker.

After the restart Oxford lost an oar in a collision with Cambridge, who then eased away to win.

At the end of the race Oxford bowman Alex Woods collapsed and had to be lifted from the boat and taken to hospital. 

Boatrace Halted Before Cambridge Win

A dramatic 158th Boat Race had to be halted midway through because of a swimmer in the River Thames, with Cambridge winning the restarted race.

The Oxford and Cambridge boats were side by side after 10 minutes and 30 seconds when the sight of a man in the river forced them to stop.

It was decided the two boats would return to the halfway point to restart.

Cambridge went on to win with ease after Oxford broke an oar in a clash moments after the resumption.

Oxford bow man Alex Woods collapsed in the boat after they crossed the line and was transferred to the race launch for medical treatment, before being taken to Charing Cross Hospital.

The traditional post-race presentation ceremony was abandoned.

"We just thought we should have a little bit of class and keep it low-key," Cambridge's Steve Dudek told BBC Sport. "Our best goes out to Alex, our thoughts are with him."

Cambridge coach Steve Trapmore added: "It's not the way anyone wants to take away the win. We're more worried about the Oxford boat right now and we'll reflect later on what's gone on.

"We've done a lot of preparation for this race, looking at past restarts. I'm very proud of them."

A closely fought race had looked to be heading for an exciting finish going into the final bend, only for a man wearing a black wetsuit to swim in front of the boats and narrowly avoid being hit by the oars of the Oxford crew.

Race umpire John Garrett told BBC Sport: "It was totally unbelievable. We are grateful to Matthew [Pinsent] for spotting the swimmer. We thought it was some debris, then we realised it was a swimmer.

"I wasn't sure if he was going to get out of the way in time, it was quite clear he was waiting for the boats to come across him, so I just had to stop the race."

The swimmer was picked up by a police boat and later arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.

Reserve umpire Pinsent added: "It's not ideal but given those circumstances what could we do? It's a safety issue. Fortunately we spotted him and stopped the race. We couldn't possibly have carried on."

The last time the race had to be restarted was in 2001 when there was a clash of blades.

The two boats headed back to the halfway point and the race restarted after a 31-minute delay, but Oxford's Hanno Wienhausen broke his oar in a clash with Cambridge and the contest was effectively over as eight men took on seven.

Oxford had gone into the race as the defending champions, but Cambridge's victory extended their lead overall in the contest to 81-76.

Cambridge team president David Nelson said: "There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing up to the [Chiswick Eyot] island and suddenly there was some yelling about an obstruction in the water.

"The next thing I know I see a guy's head between the two boats - and there's 10 or 20 boats following us, so that guy was in serious strife.

"With all the hoo-hah, the restart, the clash, it was a pretty dramatic race."

Official crews for the 158th Boat Race

Cambridge: Bow - Moritz Schramm (91.8kg), 2 - Jack Lindeman (94.6kg), 3 - Mike Thorp (91.8kg), 4 - David Nelson (92.8kg), 5 - Alexander Scharp (95.6kg), 6 - Steve Dudek (109.6kg), 7 - Alex Ross (102kg), Stroke - Niles Garratt (92.2kg), Cox - Ed Bosson (55.6kg)

Oxford: Bow - Alexander Woods (77.8kg), 2 - William Zeng (82.4kg), 3 - Kevin Baum (91.6kg), 4 - Hanno Wienhausen (93.6kg), 5 - Karl Hudspith (91.2kg), 6 - Alex Davidson (94.6kg), 7 - Dan Harvey (79.6kg), Stroke - Roel Haen (96.8kg), Cox - Zoe de Toledo (49.6kg)

Women's Boat Race to be Same

The Women's Boat Race is to be staged on the same course and day as the men's competition from 2015.

Since 1927, the women's event has been held on the River Thames at Henley.

But from 2015 it will take place on the men's 4¼-mile course between Putney and Mortlake on the Thames.

Both events will be held on the same day, with the women's competition taking place before the men's. Organisers believe the move would send a message about equality in sport.

It is understood that a new sponsorship deal, which will be announced at a press conference on Wednesday, will allow the universities to run first class crews in both the men's and women's races.

Traditionally the Women's Boat Race takes place the week before the men's event. Last year, Oxford beat Cambridge by a length to win.

Oxford also hold the men's event after winning the 157th Boat Race last year, dominating Cambridge to win by four lengths on the stretch of the Thames known as The Tideway.

The Boat Race, which will be screened on the BBC1, takes place on Saturday April 7 from 1415 GMT.