Cambridge Sweep the Board at the Boat Races

It was a dominating performance from Cambridge University at yesterday’s Boat Races as they beat Oxford University in all four races. The wins in the women’s and men’s boat races (and their respective reserve races) came at the end of a successful week for the “light blues” having already won both lightweight races, and both Veteran Boat Races.

It was an overcast day in London, with a fairly strong wind creating tough racing conditions on parts of the course but, as ever, the banks of the River Thames were lined with tens of thousands of spectators to watch this historic rowing event.

Cambridge’s victory in the Women’s Boat Race was their sixth consecutive win, extending the margin from last year, and crossing the line four and a half lengths ahead of Oxford, in a time of 20:29. Cambridge received several warnings in the lead-up to Hammersmith Bridge after some bold steering from their cox, James Trotman. At this point, Oxford knew it was a critical moment and attempted to take advantage, but Cambridge already had a clear-water lead, and then continued to move away after Hammersmith. The result was appealed by Oxford’s cox Tara Slade at the end of the race, but the appeal was dismissed.

Speaking after the race, Cambridge’s women’s president, Caiomhe Dempsey, who stroked the crew and claimed her third boat race win, said “That was just such a whirlwind of a race. There was so much going on, conditions changed so much from start to finish. I’m so proud. It’s a completely different experience as a President and it’s a completely different experience sitting in the stroke seat.”

Although not televised, the reserve races followed shortly after with Cambridge women overhauling Oxford by three lengths, and the Cambridge men securing a one length win.

The Men’s Boat Race took place an hour after the women’s race, and also saw challenging conditions. Cambridge’s cox, Jasper Parish took a decisive early decision on his steering to take his crew out of the worst of the rough water, with Oxford’s Anna O’Hanlon quickly following suit. Parish’s bold move quickly gained Cambridge half a length lead and, in the better water, they continued to capitalise on their advantage. As the bend in the course came into Oxford’s favour, O’Hanlon attempted to push Cambridge out, but the Cambridge crew continued to control the race, and with such a lead, they were able to choose their position on the course. Oxford held on to Cambridge all the way to the line, and tried to tighten up the margin in the closing stages. The final verdict was a win to Cambridge by a length and a third, one of the smallest margins in the last twenty years.

Moments after defeat, a very subdued Oxford President, Tassilo von Mueller commented on the binary nature of the race. “It’s not the result we wanted to come out of this with. It’s a battle between two teams, so one team will also lose, and that’s the reality of this event.” Meanwhile, Cambridge’s President, Ollie Boyne, who had coxed the reserve crew to victory said, “It has been an absolutely incredible performance by all the crews, with wins across the board for all the Club. It’s a fantastic time for the Club as a whole and every crew had fantastic races, I couldn’t be happier.”

With the boat races over for another year, we look forward to seeing many of the competitors representing their nations on the world stage this season and in the future.