Key events
There’s hundreds of thousands of people lining the banks of the Thames or dangling their legs over the bridges, the number growing all the time on an increasingly sunny day. It’s about 10 minutes until the women’s race begins!
Matthew Pinsent, umpire for the women’s race, is talking on the BBC and says he’s ready for the unexpected. He jovially mentions we’ve seen some things over the years, including “sinkers and swimmers”. Yikes. It will be a notable race if we get that.
This is the 79th women’s Boat Race, Cambridge have a healthy advantage: 48 victories to Oxford’s 30 wins. The Dark Blues last won this race in 2016 and they are the bookies underdogs again today. Can they pull off the upset on the Tideway today?
Perhaps a bit late for this, but just in case you’re at home in your jorts, unable to leave until you decide what clothes to put on and dash down to the Thames … the Guardian’s style team have put together this nifty attire guide. I personally am wearing all of it at the same time.
Women’s race crews
Oxford: Sarah Polson, Lilli Freischem, Tessa Haining, Alexia Lowe, Sarah Marshall, Annie Anezakis, Kyra Delray, Heidi Long. Cox: Daniel Orton.
Cambridge: Katy Hempson, Gemma King, Carys Earl, Annie Wertheimer, Sophia Hahn, Claire Collins, Tash Morrice, Samantha Morton. Cox: Jack Nicholas.
The umpire is someone called Matthew Pinsent. What does he know?
The Oxford women’s crew are carrying their boat to the water, to join Cambridge who are already there. The coin toss has happened and Oxford won it and chose the Surrey side: that means they get the advantage of the second bend. It looks a lovely day in London with just a bit of cloud in the sky to stop that merciless sunshine. Ideal!
A more uplifting, empowering tale of the Oxford v Cambridge rivalry comes via Matt Hughes. He spoke to Heidi Long and Claire Collins, who were born on the same day and have raced each other 15 times. They go again today with it all on the line – epic stuff.
Preamble
It’s got pretty toxic in the buildup to the 2025 Boat Races – and we don’t just mean the sewage pollution and E coli in the Thames. There’s been an eligibility criteria row between the two fierce rivals, with three Cambridge students – two female rowers, one male – banned from the race because they were studying for postgraduate certificates in education (PGCEs) rather than a degree.
This led to Imogen Grant, the Olympic lightweight double sculls champion and a three-time Boat Race winner with Cambridge, accusing Oxford of “slimy tactics” in March, amid talk of academic snobbery. An independent panel, however, saw things the way of Oxford University Boat Club.
So we’ve got the playlist ready before the 2025 event: Toxic, Bad Blood, erm … The Tide Is High? Of course, the state of the river is a serious matter. Tests carried out by water campaigners along the four-mile route revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for “poor” bathing water status. Last year, the Oxford team revealed that some of their crew had been ill in the buildup.
As for the races themselves: Cambridge boast recent dominance. The Light Blues are going for a hat-trick of victories in the 170th men’s race, while the women’s team are looking to stretch an even more impressive run. They have won the last seven Boat Races, though last year’s was a dramatic affair with the Dark Blues taking an early lead. Can Oxford turn the tide, as it were? We find out with the women’s race beginning at 1.21pm BST, the men’s starting at 2.21pm.
