Speedboat owner ‘tries to ram Olympic rower’
Speedboat owner ‘tries to ram Olympic rower’
Keith PerryMon, August 31, 2026 at 5:20 PM UTC
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Jack Beaumont confronts a boat skipper on the River Thames in Maidenhead
A powerboat owner has been arrested after allegedly ramming rowers on the River Thames during a confrontation involving a British Olympian.
Jack Beaumont, an Olympic silver medallist, was on the water at Maidenhead when the speedboat owner allegedly struck another rower from Maidenhead Rowing Club.
Mr Beaumont, 32, asked the boat owner why he was hitting sculls with his 18ft vessel, reportedly called the Mayfair Lady.
The owner of the launch then accelerated towards Mr Beaumont, the Daily Mail reported.
Footage obtained by the newspaper captured the powerboat skipper shouting and swearing at Mr Beaumont telling him to “shut your f---ing mouth”. He then reversed towards Mr Beaumont, allegedly attempting to ram his boat.
The man allegedly tried to ram Jack Beaumont’s boat
Mr Beaumont, who won silver in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Tokyo Olympics, managed to row away from the confrontation as the other rowers were able to head further down the river.
Thames Valley Police arrested a 67-year-old man from Windsor on suspicion of “threats to kill and using a watercraft in a manner that endangered a structure or individual”.
One rower who witnessed the incident said: “I was about a couple of hundred yards away going upstream. I saw there was a speedboat owner pulling out from the bank. He charged over and rammed a rowing boat and the man nearly went in. This is someone in a powerboat running somebody over, which is highly dangerous.
“Jack shouted out ‘What are you doing?’ The man on the speedboat then started effing and blinding at Jack and tried to ram Jack in his boat. This could have been life-threatening.”
Mr Beaumont asked the owner of the boat why he was hitting sculls
Reports said the speedboat owner sometimes lived on his vessel and had been involved in previous altercations with rowers on the Thames.
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Before the Summer 2020 Olympics, Mr Beaumont raced for Maidenhead Rowing Club but broke his back in 2015 during a training session with Team GB in Portugal. His father, Peter Beaumont, was also an Olympian and came fourth in the 1988 Summer Games.
Maidenhead Rowing Club was founded in 1876, making this year its 150th anniversary.
Jack Beaumont competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - Justin Setterfield/2021 Getty Images
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “A 67-year-old man from Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, threats to kill, a Section 4 Public Order Act offence, common assault, and using a watercraft in a manner that endangered a structure or individual.
“He remains in police custody while the investigation continues.”
Maidenhead Rowing Club said: “We can confirm that this morning one of our members, rowing a single scull on the river, was involved in a collision with another river user.
“The individual then headed toward a second member of our club. Damage was caused to club equipment as a result.
“We regard this as a serious and dangerous incident. The safety of everyone on the water is our absolute priority, and behaviour of this kind, endangering other river users in this way, is entirely unacceptable.
“We will not tolerate any act that puts our members, or any other user of the river, at risk.”
The club added: “Maidenhead Rowing Club has stood for community, respect and mutual care on this stretch of the river for 150 years, and this incident is understandably worrying for the local community and our members; we are currently supporting our members.
“We are grateful to the emergency services for their swift response, and to members of the public who stopped to check on the welfare of those involved.”
Source: “AOL Sports”
