Boat Race: Oxford rowers criticise sewage levels in River Thames
On Wednesday Environment Agency figures revealed raw sewage spills doubled last year in England to 3.6 million of hours spills compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Mr Jenkins said: "This morning I was throwing up and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to race...
Coxswain Will Denegri said: "Whether that's related to E.coli in the river I don't know, but it's certainly not helped our campaign...
Testing by campaign body River Action and Fulham Reach Boat Club earlier this month detected high levels of E. coli which can cause serious infections.
River Action said the testing locations in its research suggested the source of pollution was from Thames Water discharging sewage directly into the river and its tributaries.
The UK has combined sewage systems which mean rain and sewage share the same pipes, so if there is too much rain sewage treatment works can be overwhelmed. Sewage is spilled into waterways to prevent the system backing up.
