... is an Australian national, who studied at the London School of Economics. On 7 April 2012 he swam in front of the boats taking part in the Oxford–Cambridge boat race, as they headed into the final bend, and narrowly avoided being struck. The race was temporarily suspended; after being pulled from the water onto the umpire's boat, Oldfield was handcuffed and arrested.
Oldfield later said that he was making "a protest against inequalities in British society, government cuts, reductions in civil liberties and a culture of elitism." The day after the race, he tweeted, "Having been deep within elite institutions I have a very good understanding of them. I protest their injustices – ask anyone that knows me." On his blog, Oldfield compared his actions to those of Emily Davison, the suffragette that was killed after stepping in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913. Despite later stating that he had some sympathy for both rowers and spectators, he said he had no regrets and that he "would have felt less of a man" had he not made the protest.
In October 2012, Oldfield was jailed for six months for causing a public nuisance and ordered to pay £750 costs. Judge Anne Molyneux said Oldfield had acted dangerously and disproportionately, had not shown what he was actually protesting against, and in sabotaging the event which he regarded as elitist he had displayed prejudice.
After the sentencing, Oldfield's wife, Deepa Naik, 35, defended his actions: "Trenton has spent his adult life working on these issues and his direct action protest was a natural extension of his everyday work ... a reaction to an increasingly brutal business, media and political elite. Great Britain has convinced many it is the home of democracy and the gauge of civilisation, [but] anyone living here today knows Britain is a brutal, deeply divided, class–driven place."
In June 2013 Oldfield was refused leave to remain in the United Kingdom, the Home Office claiming his presence there was not conducive to the public good. Oldfield, whose wife is from India, appealed on the grounds that she would be threatened in Australia, and in December 2013, the deportation order was overturned.
The 2012 boat race was restarted some thirty minutes after Oldfield's intervention, from a place that was as close as could be established to where the disruption took place. There was much rough water, caused by the flotilla following the race. Within a minute of the restart, the crews drifted together and Oxford were warned by the umpire. There was a clash of oars, and this resulted in Oxford's number six, Hanno Wienhausen, breaking the shaft of his blade in half. This effectively ended the race as a contest, as Cambridge rowed away from Oxford to win by four–and–a–quarter lengths.
Security for the 2013 race was increased as a result of Oldfield's actions, with Royal Marines, additional stewards and the Metropolitan Police's Marine Policing Unit in attendance.
© Haydn Thompson 2017