Clark Loses Last Chance to Row for Oxford

The hopes of Oxford University’s rebel boat race crewmen, led by four Americans, for the reinstatement of Chris Clark of Newport Beach were dashed Tuesday night.

An emergency meeting called by the individual boat club captains of the university’s colleges passed a 22-11 vote of confidence in Oxford University Boat Club president Donald Macdonald and Oxford Coach Dan Topolski for the race.

Macdonald last week removed Clark, 27, from the Oxford eight-man boat race crew scheduled to row against Cambridge University in the annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race on the River Thames in London on March 28.

Clark’s dismissal, his replacement by Macdonald and the ensuing revolt by the other crewmen resulted in one of the biggest controversies in the 158-year history of the prestigious race.

Complaining the election process was unfair, the rebel Oxford crewmen had said they hoped Macdonald might be ousted as boat club president in a no-confidence vote at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Topolski said Tuesday Clark was dropped because of his bad influence on the team, especially what Topolski referred to as his “rebellious leadership.”

Clark was the only varsity crew member allowed to attend the meeting.

The four remaining American varsity members who threatened to boycott the Cambridge race--Jonathan Fish of New York, Dan Lyons of Wayne, Pa., Chris Huntington of New York and Chris Penny of Middletown, R.I.--have returned to training.

“The saddest part of the whole situation is that more than likely it would have been the fastest boat in Oxford history,” Clark said. “The caliber of the oarsmen involved (before the controversy) was world class.”

Clark, a graduate of Orange Coast College and Sunny Hills High School, said he will continue to train on his own for a berth on the U.S. national team while he finishes his master’s program at Oxford.