An Olympic rower was left terrified after a motorboat captain appeared to 'lose his mind’ and nearly ram him on the River Thames.
Silver medallist Jack Beaumont was left frightened by the ‘erratic’ and ‘volatile’ skipper on Sunday when he began steering his 18ft vessel towards him.
The 32-year-old, who competed in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, said: ‘I was worried he was going to ram into me. I can’t remember what he was saying but it was very, very threatening.’
Thames Valley Police have bailed a 67-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage, threats to kill, common assault and using a watercraft in a manner that endangered a structure or individual.
Mr Beaumont, who is a member of Maidenhead Rowing Club, was on the river just after 7am when he saw the motorboat heading towards two oncoming sculls – small boats – with club members onboard.
Speaking to The Times, Mr Beaumont added: ‘I was afraid because there’s not really anywhere to go on the river. I was worried he was going to really ram into me or something.
Jack Beaumont has told of his fear that the skipper of the motorboat had 'lost his mind'
‘It was frightening because he was so erratic, he was so volatile.
‘When you’re rowing, you’re going backwards so the rowers weren’t expecting him and then at the last second they noticed.
‘One of them managed to manoeuvre around him but the other one hit the boat. And then he just lost his mind.'
He continued: ‘I was quite concerned because of the way he was speaking to them. I was quite afraid he might hurt them.
‘I wanted him to leave the other rowers alone and let them get away from him.
‘He drove over immediately just shouting and swearing at me, threatening me. It was totally unreasonable.
‘He then reversed his boat super quick towards me, so I had to manoeuvre out of the way. He turned the boat around and just came straight at me, so I had to sprint to get away.
The speed boat's skipper starts shouting at Jack Beaumont, who is trying to calm him down
The exchange then intensified with Mr Beaumont attempting to steer clear
The captain reverses towards Mr Beaumont, who gets out of the way in his scull
‘Normally we get on really well with all the neighbours and everyone else. I’m very glad I got him away from the other guys, I was just trying to defuse the situation.’
Footage obtained by the Daily Mail showed Mr Beaumont being shouted at by the motorboat owner.
During the clip the man appears to shout: ‘Shut the f*** up, followed by: ‘I did nothing wrong. You f***ers think you own the water.’
Detectives have asked for witnesses to come forward with footage.
A police spokesman said: ‘During the incident, the boat is reported to have made contact with a rowing boat and its occupant.
‘The man then allegedly continued to verbally abuse a second rower, who repeatedly rowed away from the boat as it approached him.’
The club, which is 150 years old, said the abuse Mr Beaumont received was ‘entirely unacceptable’.
‘We will not tolerate any act that puts our members, or any other user of the river, at risk,’ it said in a statement.