is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. First held in 1829, the race takes place on the Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1994 race by lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with 71 victories to Oxford's 68. The race was sponsored by Beefeater Gin for the ninth consecutive year. The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race. Oxford saw former coach and BlueDan Topolski return as director of coaching following his departure after the 1992 race. Topolski, who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1967 race, had coached Oxford to ten consecutive victories from 1976 to 1985. He noted: "We know we are underdogs. We started with only one man from a previous Blues race and no internationals. Nothing but big hearts and lungs". Cambridge's boat club president Richard Phelps was upbeat: "We're buoyant, tails up, the boat's been going fast." Cambridge were coached by Robin Williams who was reserved in his assessment, noting his crew needed to be "comfortable with the situation of rowing side-by-side."
Crews
The official weigh-in took place at The Hurlingham Club five days before the race. The Oxford crew weighed on average more than their opponents. Cambridge saw the return of four former Blues while Oxford's crew featured two. The Oxford crew contained two native British rowers to Cambridge's five. Cambridge's crew also featured the first rower from Croatia in the Boat Race, in Marko Banovic. Oxford's cox, 19-year-old Abbie Chapman, became the ninth female cox in the history of the contest, and as a result of her diminutive stature, standing tall, her seat was raised to afford her the visibility required to steer.
Race
Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. In a stiff headwind, Oxford took an early lead but as Cambridge's rhythm improved, they closed the gap and took the lead. Aggressive steering from Oxford's Chapman resulted in warnings from the umpire, yet by Craven Cottage, Cambridge held a lead of two-thirds of a length, and were a second ahead at the Mile Post. A length ahead by Harrods Furniture Depository, a push at Hammersmith Bridge increased the lead to a length-and-a-half and allowed Cambridge a clear water advantage by Chiswick Eyot. Although rating considerably lower than Oxford, Cambridge held their lead and passed the finishing post four lengths ahead, in a time of 18 minutes 4 seconds. In the reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie won by fourteen lengths over Isis, the largest margin of victory since the 1971 race, and Cambridge's eighth victory in nine years. Cambridge won the 50th Women's Boat Race by lengths in a time of 6 minutes and 2 seconds, their sixth victory in seven years.
Reaction
Cambridge's Croatian international Banovic said "Matching them over the first two minutes and delaying our effort to Hammersmith was part of our plan." His president, Phelps, confirmed "We knew they had four or five minutes in them... we waited for them to crack." Topolski reflected: "We had a great first seven minutes... Cambridge are on a roll that has taken years to build up." He continued: "You cannot expect our system to bear fruit in just a year". The race was watched by around seven million viewers in the United Kingdom, the fifth most-viewed sports event of the year.
