Dark-blue women end eight years of rivals’ dominance
Light-blue crew power to four-length win in men’s race
Oxford’s women ended eight years of Cambridge dominance in their Boat Race with a sensational performance led by the Olympic medallist Heidi Long, while Cambridge overpowered their dark-blue rivals in the men’s race after a fiercely contested opening.
On a breezy and largely overcast day in London, Oxford’s women forged an early lead as the first race of the day sped away from Putney and they led by about six seconds by Hammersmith Bridge. Tens of thousands of fans cheered the boats on from the riverside, lining the 6.8km course all the way.
The water was exceptionally rough in the later part of the course and Matt Moran, the Cambridge cox, steered into calmer waters on the left-hander by Chiswick Eyot, taking the inside line and forcing Oxford to respond.
