Cambridge made it two wins in a row in this years Lightweight Boat race.
Both crews had shown good speed in warm up fixtures against crews from London RC, Goldie, Leander, UL and Bristol University, and looked sharp in the build up to the race. Oxford won the toss and chose the Berks station with the better of the strong stream conditions.
Rating 49 strokes per minute Oxford took a half length lead off the start which allowed them to push Cambridge further out of the stream prompting the first of many umpires warnings. Oxford held this lead for much of the course, each time Cambridge started to move through, Oxford’s steering would block them and the umpire would issue another warning.
Finally, after strong pushes in the middle of the race, Cambridge’s superior boat-speed brought them level in the last minute and with blades clashing at times. Entering the last 250m both crews were level and there was a fantastic battle to cross the line first. Neither the commentator, nor the large crowd could tell who had won, but the final verdict was Cambridge by two feet in a time of 5.28! The best race of the day and a great demonstration of men’s lightweight rowing.
