An Olympic gold medallist has been barred from competing in this year’s Boat Race as arguments over eligibility criteria continue to overshadow the event.
Organisers have decreed that Tom Ford, who triumphed in the men’s eight at the 2024 Paris Olympics, cannot compete.
This is because his study period began outside the new time frame that was established in 2021.
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Olympic gold medallist Tom Ford. (Image: John Walton / PA Wire)
Mr Ford, who recently started an MBA at Cambridge, has competed in a number of test races for the crew ahead of the traditional clash with Oxford on the River Thames next month.
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However, he enrolled for his undergraduate degree at Newcastle University in 2011, meaning he fell foul of a rule introduced after James Cracknell came out of a lengthy retirement to compete in the event in 2019.
The new rule precludes any athlete who started an undergraduate course more than 12 years earlier.
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The Boat Race Company said in a statement: “In the case of Tom Ford OLY, he matriculated in 2011 and is therefore ineligible to race according to the rules agreed jointly by the two clubs.
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“As an Olympic gold medallist, Tom brings significant experience and learnings to the Cambridge squad.
“It is unfortunate that he is not eligible to race according to the rules jointly agreed by the two clubs, but this was known to both Tom and Cambridge University Boat Club at the time of his admission to the university last summer.”
