In the UK’s last racing of the year, the trial eights races provide the only opportunity for The Boat Race athletes to race across the entire championship course. The first squad in action, the Cambridge women, had been split into two eights by head coach Paddy Ryan. Opting for crews named after characters from AA Milne’s tale, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ lined up on the Middlesex station against ‘Eeyore’ on the Surrey side.
Off the start, the conditions were unusually flat, and umpire Matthew Pinsent oversaw a clear start by both crews. Of the two, it was Winnie who made the better of the two starts, establishing a noticeable lead within the first minute and continued to press that advantage.
Passing Craven Cottage, Winne’s supremacy was already evident. The mix of youth and experience of first-year senior Eloise Etherington in the seven-seat and double Olympian Claire Collins stroking the boat produced a phenomenal rhythm, which served them well throughout the race.
Part of Eeyore’s difficulty in the race was down to an issue with one of the gates on the boat, putting them at a further disadvantage as Winnie had established open water by the Harrods depository, granting Winnie’s Australian coxswain Kate Crowley the right to steer her own line through the Surrey bend.
Despite this, the coxing remained exceptionally polite throughout the course. Eeyore was given plenty of space to row into, but Winnie the Pooh’s superior pace meant they continued to pull away despite the corner going against them.
By the Chiswick Eyot, the course shifted into a headwind and rougher water, but the contest was not in doubt at this point. Winnie’s stronger rhythm had earned them an advantage of several lengths of clear water and allowed them a better run in the tough conditions, cruising through the back end of the race, eventually winning by a margin of four lengths.
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