'Selfish oddball' interrupted Varsity boat race, court hears Mr Mably added: "He replied that he was protesting about elitism. Exactly what he meant by that - who knows? Mr Mably said the two eight-man teams were just "settling into the rhythm and the race was developing into what was a close and exciting contest" when the disruption occurred. He added: "By this time both crews were rowing flat out and were neck and neck. The race came to an unexpected and sudden halt, all in front of the tens of thousands of people at the side of the river who wanted to watch the race. Oldfield, who was clad in a wetsuit, had swum into the paths of the two boats as they neared Chiswick Eyot between the two and three-mile markers of the race, which had set off from Putney. Mr Mably said that although "to some extent" there was a risk of danger to the rowers, the real threat was to Oldfield himself as he narrowly avoided being hit by the blade of an Oxford oar. One does not need to imagine too much the damage that would have been caused to him if his head had been struck by an oar that was coming through the water at full force. He said race umpire John Garrett spotted Oldfield and called a halt to the race. What Mr Oldfield had done was in effect to force someone else to take responsibility to stop him from serious injury. Of course, ordering the race to stop, bringing it to a halt in front of the tens and thousands of people who were watching at the river and on the television, it is not something that a race official is going to do lightly as obviously it spoils the race for everyone - the crews and the spectators. One person decided for his own reasons to disrupt a national sporting event and in the process the enjoyment of the spectating public. Oldfield, an Australian, was plucked from the water by a boat and transferred to Chiswick Pier where he was met by police. Jurors were shown the BBC's coverage of the race, and the chaotic aftermath of Oldfield's stunt before it was eventually restarted. Both crews had to reposition their vessels at the new start line, close to where the incident had happened, while other boats had to move or cut their engines to keep the water flat. The disruption also caused great mental and physical stress to the rowers as they had to prepare to start again, with Cambridge having an advantage. Jurors watched the footage of the crews as they continued to battle towards the finish line at Mortlake, with Cambridge powering on to victory. Summarising his closing speech, Mr Mably said it was for the jury to decide whether or not Oldfield had caused a public nuisance. He added: "It would be a pretty unsatisfactory state of affairs for the public as a whole if we have to live in a society where one person is able to stop these kind of events from happening. If the enjoyment of the public is at the mercy of any crank, oddball or self-righteous protester who decides that their views were more important than anybody else's. Oldfield, of Myrdle Street, east London, denies a charge of causing a public nuisance.