Women's Boat Race 2014
69th Women's Boat Race | |||
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Date | 30 March 2014 | ||
Winner | Oxford | ||
Margin of victory | 4 lengths | ||
Winning time | 5 minutes 50 seconds | ||
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 41–28 | ||
Umpire | Judith Packer | ||
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The 69th Women's Boat Race took place on 30 March 2014. The race, between crews representing Oxford University Women's Boat Club and Cambridge University Women's Boat Club, was umpired by Judith Packer. Cambridge were the heavier of the crews and consisted of an all-British crew, while Oxford's boat included rowers from Canada, Switzerland and the United States. Oxford won by four lengths in a time of 5 minutes 50 seconds, their second consecutive win. The victory took the overall record in the event to 41–28 in Cambridge's favour. It was the last time the race would be conducted as a 2 km (1.2 mi) straight race which formed part of the Henley Boat Races.
Background
The Women's Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between Oxford University Women's Boat Club and the Cambridge University Women's Boat Club that has taken place since 1927. Oxford went into the race as champions, having won the previous year's race by one and three-quarter lengths, with Cambridge leading 41–27 overall.[1] It was the last time the race would be conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, along a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) stretch of the River Thames referred to as the Straight Course, used for the Henley Royal Regatta since 1924.[2] The 2015 race would be conducted on The Championship Course on the same day as men's race.[3]
Cambridge's number five, Catherine Foot, remarked "After training, I step back and think 'wow, I'm part of this incredible tradition'. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing than training for this event", while Oxford's stroke Amber de Vere said "All the training has been leading up to this weekend. Next year is definitely exciting and it has added something to training, but as a crew, we're only thinking about Sunday."[4] This year's race was umpired by Judith Packer and was sponsored by Newton Investment Management, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon, for the third successive year.[3][5]
Crews
Both sets of trial boats raced on the Tideway for the first time in the history of the competition, on 19 December 2013. The two Cambridge boats were named Nudge Nudge and Wink Wink (with a third reserve boat called Say No More),[6] while Oxford's trialists rowed in Cleopatra and Boudicca.[7] Both trials were overseen by Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Winckless.[7]
The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 73.2 kg (161 lb) per rower, 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) more than their opponents.[8] Oxford saw three members of the 2013 race return to the crew: Alice Carrington-Windo, Maxie Scheske and Anastasia Chitty. Cambridge's boat included two double Blues in Caroline Reid and Holly Game, while four other members of the crew had taken part in the previous year's race.[9] Every member of the Cambridge crew was British, while Oxford's boat included Canadian Elizabeth Fence, German/Britons Carrington-Windo and Scheske, Nadine Graedel Iberg from Switzerland and American Laura Savarese (who had rowed inter-Varsity for Harvard University on four occasions).[3][10]
Seat | Cambridge |
Oxford | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | College | Nationality | Weight | Name | College | Nationality | Weight | |
Bow | Caroline Reid | Jesus | British | 64.4 kg (142 lb) | Elizabeth Fenje | Kellogg | Canadian | 58.6 kg (129 lb) |
2 | Kate Ashley | Peterhouse | British | 75.0 kg (165 lb) | Alice Carrington-Windo | Kellogg | German/British | 67.2 kg (148 lb) |
3 | Holly Game | Girton | British | 74.6 kg (164 lb) | Maxie Scheske (P) | Magdalen | German/British | 64.8 kg (143 lb) |
4 | Isabella Vyvyan | Hughes Hall | British | 87.2 kg (192 lb) | Lauren Kedar | Exeter | British | 75.4 kg (166 lb) |
5 | Catherine Foot | Girton | British | 71.0 kg (157 lb) | Nadine Graedel Iberg | Lincoln | Swiss | 72.6 kg (160 lb) |
6 | Melissa Wilson | Gonville and Caius | British | 77.0 kg (170 lb) | Laura Savarese | Corpus Christi | American | 73.6 kg (162 lb) |
7 | Claire Watkins | Clare | British | 72.6 kg (160 lb) | Anastasia Chitty | Pembroke | British | 69.4 kg (153 lb) |
Stroke | Emily Day | Emmanuel | British | 64.0 kg (141 lb) | Amber de Vere | Somerville | British | 72.0 kg (159 lb) |
Cox | Esther Momcilovic (P) | Clare | British | 52.4 kg (116 lb) | Erin Wysocki-Jones | Pembroke | British | 49.6 kg (109 lb) |
Sources:[8][11][12][13] (P) – boat club president[3] |
Race
Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Berkshire side, handing the Buckinghamshire station to Oxford.[14] At 3 p.m., umpire Palmer dropped the flag to start the race.[15] Both crews went off rating 40 strokes per minute, and after the first 500 metres (550 yd) Oxford were half a length ahead. By the time the crews passed the Upper Thames Rowing Club, Oxford's lead was over a length. Cambridge made a series of pushes, and while both crews were warned by the umpire to avoid a collision, Oxford continued to extend their lead to win by four lengths in a time of 5 minutes 50 seconds.[3] It was the largest winning margin since the 2010 race, six seconds slower than the record time set by Oxford in the 2006 race.[16] With Oxford's second consecutive win, and their sixth in the last seven,[17] the victory took the overall record in the event to 41–28 in Cambridge's favour.[1]
The former Oxford cox Rachel Quarrell, writing in The Daily Telegraph stated that the race "was won in storming style" and suggested the contest was over within the first two minutes.[14] A newly-designed trophy, to replace the existing wooden shield,[18] was awarded to the Oxford president by Olympic gold medallist Sophie Hosking who had won the Women's lightweight double sculls at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[19][20]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Boat Race – Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "History of the course". Henley Royal Regatta. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Oxford win the 2014 Newton Women's Boat Race". The Boat Race Company Limited. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ↑ Barretto, Lawrence (27 March 2014). "Women's Boat Race: Oxford & Cambridge set to renew rivalry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ Morrissey, Helena (4 April 2015). "Helena Morrissey: 'Tide turns in favour of boat race women'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ "First CUWBC Tideway Trial VIIIs". Cambridge University Women's Boat Club. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Women make history with thrilling trials". The Boat Race Company Limited. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "As the Men and Women's Blue Boats Weighed-In Together Yesterday, It Was the Cambridge Men's Crew and Women's Crew That Topped the Scales". University of Cambridge. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015. (subscription required)
- ↑ "Henley Challenge marks five days to go until the historic Women's Boat Race". The Boat Race Company Limited. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ Quarrell, Rachel (30 March 2014). "Women's boats in arms race to prepare for historic tideway move". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 9.
- ↑ "Women's Boat Race: Oxford beat Cambridge by four lengths". BBC Sport. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "Crews". Oxford University Women's Boat Club. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "Henley challenge marks five days to go until the historic women's boat race". The Boat Race Company Limited. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Quarrell, Rachel (30 March 2014). "Boat Race 2014: Ineradicable Oxford women demolish Cambridge for second year running". The Daily Telegraph.
- ↑ Longmore, Andrew (30 March 2014). "Women chart new course". The Sunday Times. (subscription required)
- ↑ "Light Blues have no answer to Oxford dominance". Cambridge News. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ Lowe, Alex (31 March 2014). "Oxford claim victory over Cambridge but miss record in women’s Boat Race". The Times. (subscription required)
- ↑ Rock, Lucy (30 March 2014). "Women rowers catch up with men at the Boat Race". The Observer. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ Mahoney, Lizzie (19 February 2014). "New Women's Boat Race trophy unveiled". The Cambridge Student. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "Sophie Hosking, Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
External links
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