Cambridge won the 169th Men’s Boat Race, defeating Oxford by several lengths
Dawn over London on the morning of the 169th Men’s Boat Race was, in every sense, a new beginning. As if prompted by the events to come on the water, spring was sprung from a start that split the sky in pink and blue, heralding the return of the much-maligned sun, a sight rare enough in the capital of late that its mere presence felt like a precious commodity. For the 18 athletes preparing to take to the water in pursuit of unending glory, their pre-race nerves would surely have rendered them passive observers to the sunrise, aware of their individuality in a seasonal shift but spotlighted for this briefest of lines in the script of sport.
Formalities began with the coin toss, hosted on the Putney yard in front of a baying crowd of blue. Oxford, represented by James Doran, won the toss and chose Surrey, a choice that raised one or two eyebrows in the amassed ranks as their female counterparts had won their own toss minutes before and opted for Middlesex.
Conditions, as noted, were superb; flat water, clear skies and the highest temperatures seen in the UK for weeks. The contrast between 2024 and 2023 could not have been starker.
Off the start, with the sun slowly dipping below the horizon, both crews got going smoothly and steadily, punch-for-punch along a packed Putney pier. Pinsent, umpire for this contest, was called into action early as the crews converged; Cambridge had a couple of seats in a fierce race defined by spit and spray and surge around the Fulham bend. Ed Bracey, Cambridge’s chosen driver, was certainly enacting some pages of the aggressive coxing manual, pushing back on Oxford, which contributed to a clash passing Craven Cottage. Pinsent arguably had already earned his umpiring stripes in the opening couple of minutes, constantly called into action to pull apart two boats whose destinies and distances were inextricably intertwined.
Cambridge were inexorably moving though, stretching to nearly a length as the Light Blue corner began to run out. The race was beautifully balanced; Oxford’s bend beckoned as the Dark Blues maintained their slim contact with a tenacious Cambridge stern. The rhythm, as called by on-the-ground reporter Jasper Parish, was clearly in Cambridge favour; their poise and panache had earned them an inch-by-inch lead but the power of Oxford continued to push on to the flickering mirage of Bracey.
Passing underneath Hammersmith Bridge, Cambridge had just under a length as the volume from the bank rose in response to two boats taking it in turns to write moment after moment of sporting drama. Cambridge’s steering was canny in the moments past St Paul’s boathouse, cutting the disadvantage their Middlesex bend hands them touch by touch, and, for the first time, Seb Benzecry’s boys found daylight between themselves and Oxford.
Stroked by former lightweight Matt Edge, Cambridge’s distinction between the bookies bet and reality seemed prescient once again. Like the sun stooping low in the spring sky, Oxford’s spirit sagged as the crews passed Chiswick Eyot and Cambridge continued to walk away. What was becoming rapidly apparent from a Light Blue perspective was that their post-Hammersmith push was deliberate; both their men and women’s crews placed the proverbial foot on the throat, essentially determining the outcome of equivalent contests with some two kilometres left to row.
As the camera angle panned to show patchwork green field sandwiched between the residential sprawl of west London, it made for the prettiest of perusal for those of a Cambridge persuasion. Oxford faces were pained, their evident potential shrinking and dying under the intense scrutiny of Rob Baker and his company of courageous, culture-carrying athletes.
It was suggested by some that the lack of water time for Oxford, caused by the excessive flooding across the country throughout the winter months, may have contributed to Cambridge’s evident superior boat feel. We may never know the true reason for the Dark Blue collapse.
With so little left off the race, it almost appeared a foregone conclusion to etch Cambridge’s name onto the silverware but Matt Edge, the Light Blue strokeman, found that his personal finish line came a kilometre too soon. In serious jeopardy, he appeared spent and it was down to the seven athletes behind him to drive the Cambridge crew home. With mere strokes left to go, Edge’s blade appeared to barely be connected with water but the Light Blue lead was insurmountable, leaving Cambridge to romp home for a second consecutive victory in the Men’s Boat Race.
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