Monday saw the much-awaited anticipated weigh-in of the 18 men and 18 women who will battle out upon the River Thames this spring. For rowers at both Oxford and Cambridge, today has marked the beginning of the run-in to yet another Varsity Boat Race.
To begin with the women, who race first, the Oxford boat, although outweighed by their Catabrian counterparts, is a mix of fresh talent and old hands:
Bow: Elizabeth Fenje – 58.6kg
2: Alice Carrington-Windo – 67.2kg
3: Maxie Scheske – 64.8kg
4: Nadine Graedel Iberg – 72.6kg
5: Anastasia Chitty – 69.4kg
6: Lauren Kedar – 75.4kg
7: Amber De Vere – 72kg
Stroke: Laura Savarese – 73.6kg
Cox: Erin Wysocki-Jones – 49.6kg
Weighing on average 4kg less than the Cambridge boat, the Dark Blue eight should be up for the challenge on the Thames at Henley come March 30th, and will be hoping for a relatively calm river.
The Cambridge crew’s statistics were as follows:
Bow: Caroline Reid – 64.4kg
2: Kate Ashley – 75kg
3: Holly Game -74.6kg
4: Isabella Vyvyan – 87.2kg
5: Catherine Foot – 71kg
6: Melissa Wilson – 77kg
7: Claire Watkins – 72.6
Stroke: Emily Day – 64kg
Cox: Esther Momcilovic – 52.4kg
OUWBC go into this race hoping to retain the title they wrenched from the Tabs last April.
As for the men, this year’s way in saw Oxford President and former Canadian Olympic medalist again weigh-in as the heaviest member of either crew – at an intimidating 108.2kg. At the other end of the scale, New Zealand Olympian Storm Uru is the lightest, tipping the scales at just over 80kg. Similarly to the women, the Oxford men are conceding weight to the Cambridge rowers, although it is only 2.6kg in this case.
The make-up of the Oxford crew is thus:
Bow: Storm Uru – 80.4kg
2: Chris Fairweather – 85.4kg
3: Karl Hudspith -91kg
4: Thomas Swartz – 81.2kg
5: Malcolm Howard – 108.2kg
6: Michael DiSanto – 89.2kg
7: Sam O'Connor – 88.8kg
Stroke: Constantine Louloudis – 93.6kg
Cox: Laurence Harvey – 54.8kg
Meanwhile, Cambridge will field a boat looking like this:
Bow: Michael Thorp – 88kg
2: Luke Juckett – 84.2kg
3: Ivo Dawkins – 89.2kg
4: Steve Dudek – 101kg
5: Helge Gruetjen – 99.6kg
6: Matthew Jackson – 94.4kg
7: Joshua Hooper – 92kg
Stroke: Henry Hoffstot – 89.6kg
Cox: Ian Middleton – 53.6kg
