THE Winklevoss twins are renowned for their rowing royalty status among fans of the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.
But they were also at the centre of one of the biggest legal battles of the 21st century.
GettyCameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2004[/caption]
GettyThe twins took part in the Boat Race in 2010[/caption]
In 2004, Cameron and Tyler’s social media website, ConnectU, filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that creator Mark Zuckerberg had broken a verbal contract with them.
The twins had originally asked Zuckerberg to help expand the site from Harvard to other universities, but they later claimed that he had copied their idea to make his own website.
Eventually, in 2008, both parties reached a settlement that saw the Winklevoss brothers paid £51million.
And the following year they enrolled at the University of Oxford to obtain an MBA (Master of Business Administration).
During their time at Oxford, the twins took part in the 156th Boat Race but lost to Cambridge.
Speaking to The Guardian before the race, Tyler said: “Even though we have rowed at Harvard and the Olympics this is a unique challenge.
“On one of our very first days when we tried rowing our coach, James Mangan, showed us a video of the Boat Race. That was part of the impetus for us to start rowing.”
The twins started rowing at the age of 15 and went on to compete during their time at Harvard University.
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They also represented the United States at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, finishing sixth in the final as a pair.
Cameron and Tyler, 42, have since gone on to work in cryptocurrency.
They are founders of Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and Winklevoss Capital Management.
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