Cambridge claim double first in Boat Race with wins for men and women

The Boat Race is Cambridge’s domain once again. Dominant for so much of the event’s recent history, the Light Blues bounced back from a rare defeat in the men’s race last year to return yet another men and women’s double on a blustery Thames.

On a grim spring day, with cold gusts of wind ensuring hats and scarves were compulsory attire for spectators along the 4.25 miles from Putney to Mortlake, the two Cambridge crews ensured the title of university rowing powerhouse remains irrefutable.

The men’s race this year had been seen by many as something for the university rowing purists, with an abundance of undergraduates and total absence of Olympians in either boat. This was the Boat Race as it was initially meant in the early 19th century, albeit with multiple nationalities represented in both boats.

Starting from the northern Middlesex station, the men’s race took on an immediately fascinating complexion when the Cambridge cox, Jasper Parish, made a rare move away from the fast water in the centre of the river. It was unexpected, to say the least.

Deciding that the water was too rough, he instead guided his boat towards the bank passing Fulham’s stadium, Craven Cottage, in the hunt for shelter. The gamble paid off in abundance, with Cambridge able to gain the ascendancy and an early length lead that they maintained throughout.

With Oxford left battling Cambridge’s dirty water for the majority of the race, the margin remained enough to secure victory under Chiswick Bridge.

Off the back of a five-year winning sequence – and a course-record time in 2022 – the Cambridge women showed why they had been deemed such firm favourites to extend their run, despite only one returning occupant from the record-breaking boat of last