After losing out in both the men’s and women’s lightweight races on Saturday 12th April, there were high hopes that Oxford would make amends on the big day. It wasn’t to be though, and 0/2 soon became 0/3 after the Cambridge Women’s Blues crossed the line by Barnes Bridge. By the time the Cambridge Men’s Blues did the same, Oxford were staring down an 0/6 barrel and a clean sweep. The day looked to get off to a good start as Oxford won 3/4 of the tosses, but after both Blues picked the Surrey side over Middlesex, it seems that it made little difference to the eventual result.
The day wasn’t without some controversy. In just the first (Women’s Blues) race, the two sides’ oars collided, almost shooting one of the Cambridge rowers out of her seats. Those at the Fulham fans’ zone watched on as both boats were made to stop rowing completely and await an umpire-ordained restart. Cambridge, who were ahead at the time, seemed somewhat unfazed and maintained a healthy lead for the rest of the race. Oxford were deemed to be at fault, but the umpires concluded that it would have been harsh to disqualify them entirely.
Both races were eventually won fairly convincingly, but the men’s boats did hold on slightly longer before Cambridge pulled away. They would suffer the same fate as their female compatriots however, exacerbated by a moment onscreen when the footage holds on one frame as Cambridge breeze through, before Oxford pass by some seven or eight seconds later. The eventual gap between the times was 16 seconds, one of the largest in recent memory.
After what has been a turbulent cycle on and off the water, it appears that Cambridge used all of the drama as motivation. While technically, a veteran’s race on Saturday prevented a COMPLETE clean sweep, it still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of all Oxford fans that all boats featuring current students were on the losing side of the Thames today.
