Twelve months on from a dirty-water controversy, this year the toxicity has spread to the clubs in the Boat Race.
The Olympic gold medallist and former Light Blue rower Imogen Grant caused a stir last month when condemning Oxford as “slimy” for getting three Cambridge students banned from the race as they were studying for postgraduate certificates in education (PGCEs) rather than a degree, although the conservationist could also have been describing the contents of the Thames, the course for this anachronistic yet somehow endearing national event. About 200,000 spectators and revellers are expected to line the banks of the river between Putney and Mortlake to cheer on the women’s race at 1.21pm on Sunday, with the men’s race due exactly an hour later. Few watching will be tempted into the water.
