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| Oxford defeat Cambridge for their fourth Boat Race win in five years | Oxford defeat Cambridge for their fourth Boat Race win in five years |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| It has taken 186 years for the women rowers of Oxford and Cambridge to be granted equal billing with their male counterparts. But on an historic day, when the women’s boat race was finally staged over the same stretch of the River Thames as the men and broadcast live for the first time, there was a rampant inequality on the water. Oxford thumped their old rivals in the women’s race and the men’s race by six-and-a-half lengths – and, for good measure, beat them in the reserve race too. | |
| More than a quarter of a million people thronged along the Thames to glimpse this bizarrely popular and enduring institution. Indeed, the Olympic champion and former boat race participant Matthew Pinsent reckoned it was the biggest crowd he had ever seen for the event. Those watching saw a significant moment in its long life – but nothing, sadly, resembling a contest. | |
| Oxford’s women, having won 11 of the last 15 boat races and having displayed significantly better form in the runup, were overwhelming favourites for the 70th running of the women’s boat race. It didn’t take long for them to assert their dominance. They were close to a length up after two minutes, and when they looked back it was only to enjoy their lead expanding with every stroke. | |
| Oxford cox Jennifer Ehr has played chess internationally but this race wasn’t about tactics but strength, style and class. Oxford had four international rowers to Cambridge’s one. They also had Caryn Davies, the great American rower who has won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles, on stroke. It looked a mismatch on paper. Out on the water it was no different. | |
| The Dark Blues finished the 4.2 mile course in 19:45 – 19 seconds and six-and-a-half lengths clear of Cambridge. It looked straightforward but afterwards Davies admitted it had been tough to row almost three miles more than the 1.25 miles she normally races in Olympic and world championship races. | |
| “It hurts a lot,” she said. “It’s harder than winning the Olympics because it’s three times as long to suffer, but there’s always less suffering when you win. I’m just proud and honoured to have been a role model today.” | |
| Cambridge women’s coach Rob Baker warned it would take time for his crew to close the gap on Oxford. “We’ve got a young crew that has come a long way and they raced their best,” he said. “We’ve improved quite a lot, but it just wasn’t good enough.” | |
| Asked whether the greater exposure would drive standards up, he readily agreed. “There will be a lot of interest in women rowers wanting to do the boat race,” he said. “And after this the standard will keep rising very quickly.” | |
| But not quickly enough for Cambridge, you suspect. Oxford’s men went into their race as the joint-shortest priced favourites in history, and while it took them longer to take control when they made their strike around Hammersmith Bridge, just after halfway, it was decisive. | |
| Until then the Oxford crew had led by around half a length, but very quickly Cambridge were desperately flailing, their morale sapped along with their energy. | |
| Afterwards the Oxford boat club president, Constantine Louloudis, who becomes one of only 14 men to have won the boat race four times with this victory, paid tribute to his team who crossed the line in 17:35 – 19 seconds and six-and-a- half lengths clear. | |
| “It feels fantastic,” he added. “There’s such an overwhelming sense of relief. Having never lost I felt much more pressure this year. There were some pretty dark moments and I’m pretty pleased for the guys, especially those who have never done it before.” | |
| Also delighted was James O’Connor, who recovered from feeling unwell early in the week, to win alongside his older brother Sam. “It just feels good,” he said. “It’s a culmination of so much hard work. Monday was a dark day. I slept for three days but I came back. Fortunately I am fit enough to get back from an illness pretty quickly.” | |
| Meanwhile the Oxford coach Sean Bowden, who had urged his crew to row with the vigour of Dan Topolski, the former Oxford rowing president and Observer writer who died in February, when they raced, was delighted after recording his 11th win as a coach. “They are all different and tough but we came together well,” he said. | |
| Afterwards, just before Oxford bodies were slumped in the boat and the champagne bottles were shaken and sprayed, there were shouts of “Three cheers for Cambridge” followed by “Three cheers for Oxford”. | |
| Everyone else, meanwhile, was uttering a silent cheer that a race that began in 1829, when the Duke of Wellington was prime minister, had at last been dragged into the 21st century by granting women an equal footing in this oldest of contests. Beforehand race organisers called it a “positive and progressive step”– the only shame was that it took so long. |