The Boat Race 2014
The 160th Boat Race took place on 6 April 2014. It was sponsored by BNY Mellon and thus officially titled "The BNY Mellon Boat Race". Oxford won the race by 11 lengths, the largest margin of victory since 1973. In the reserve race Isis beat Goldie.
Background
The Boat Race is an annual competition between Oxford University and Cambridge University. First held in 1829, the competition is a 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi) race along the Thames river in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and widely followed throughout the United Kingdom.[1]
Crews
The Cambridge crew (known as the "Light Blues") had a 5 kilograms (11 lb) per person advantage, but Oxford (the "Dark Blues") were the pre-race favourite.[2] The Cambridge crew was 24 years old on average, while Oxford averaged 26 years.[3] The Oxford crew featured three British rowers, two Canadians, two New Zealanders, an American, and one member with dual Canadian-American citizenship. The Cambridge team consisted of three British rowers, four Americans, an Australian, and a German.[1] Three of the Oxford rowers had competed in the Olympics.[4]
The crews were as follows:[3]
| Seat | Oxford | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Bow | Storm Uru | Mike Thorp |
| 2 | Tom Watson | Luke Juckett |
| 3 | Karl Hudspith | Ivo Dawkins |
| 4 | Tom Swartz | Steve Dudek |
| 5 | Malcolm Howard | Helge Gruetjen |
| 6 | Michael Di Santo | Matthew Jackson |
| 7 | Sam O'Connor | Joshua Hooper |
| Stroke | Constantine Louloudis | Henry Hoffstot |
| Cox | Laurence Harvey | Ian Middleton |
Race description
At race time, conditions were mild with an overcast sky.[2] A crowd of 250,000 people were in attendance.[1]
Oxford won the coin toss and elected to start from the southern bank of the Thames. In the first five minutes of the race, the lead changed hands three times. First Oxford, then Cambridge drifted towards the centre of the river and were warned by the umpire. Oxford turned away, but before Cambridge had time to do so, the two boats bumped. The clash caused a rowing error by Cambridge's Luke Juckett, as he was bucked from his seat and nearly thrown overboard. He did not recover until five strokes later. Oxford took advantage, rowing out to a significant lead with two-thirds of the course to go. From there, Oxford's lead steadily increased. Cambridge was unable to respond and in the end Oxford won by 11 lengths, the largest margin of victory since 1973.[5]
Oxford finished with a time of 18 minutes, 36 seconds; this was 32 seconds faster than Cambridge. It was their fifth victory in the last seven years, and tenth in the last fifteen.[4] Stroke Constantine Louloudis was a member of a victorious Oxford crew for the third time (2011, 2013 and 2014 – he competed in the Olympics instead in 2012). Cambridge now lead the overall series 81–78.[2]
At the finish, the Oxford crew threw their cox, Laurence Harvey, into the water in celebration.[2] After the race, Cambridge filed an appeal. Umpire Richard Phelp ruled that the bump occurred on neutral water and thus there was no penalty assessed to either team. Oxford's Sam O’Connor called it "very minor, one of the smallest clashes I’ve ever had".[5] Juckett said the clash broke his rigger and made it "really hard to keep rowing",[5] but added that "clashing is part of the race."[4]
In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's Goldie.[5] Earlier, Oxford also won the women's race.[4]
Reaction
O'Connor said he was confident Oxford would have won even without the clash. Oxford president Malcolm Howard remarked "You cannot help but feel for the two-seat of Cambridge, it’s tough."[5] Cambridge president Steve Dudek called it "a frustrating way to lose ... I would never wish that on anyone."[5] BBC commentator remarked it was "great for British rowing" that Louloudis won the race for the third time.[4]
An estimated 130 million people worldwide watched the event on television.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Oxford wins 160th Boat Race". Washington Post. AP. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ^ a b "The 2014 Blue Boats". The BNY Mellon Boat Race. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Marc Higginson (6 April 2014). "Boat Race 2014: Oxford emphatically beat Cambridge". BBC. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Rachel Quarrell (6 April 2014). "The Boat Race 2014: Oxford University claim biggest win over Cambridge since 1973". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 April 2014.