The Boat Race 2013

Last updated

159th Boat Race
Date31 March 2013 (2013-03-31)
Winner Oxford
Margin of victory1+1⁄2 lengths
Winning time17 minutes 27 seconds
Overall record
(Cambridge–Oxford)		81–77
Umpire Matthew Pinsent
(Oxford)
Other races
Reserve winnerIsis
Women's winnerOxford
← 2012 2014 →

The 159th Boat Race between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on 31 March 2013. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The Cambridge crew featured the first rower from the Czech Republic to compete in the event. Umpired by former Olympic medallist and former Oxford rower Matthew Pinsent, Oxford won by a margin of 1+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 17 minutes and 27 seconds.

Contents

In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis defeated Cambridge's Goldie, and Oxford won the Women's Boat Race.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") [1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). [1] First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. [2] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. [3] [4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the disrupted 2012 race by 4+1⁄4 lengths, [5] and led overall with 81 victories to Oxford's 76 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). [6] The race was sponsored for the second consecutive year by BNY Mellon. [7]

Matthew Pinsent (pictured in 2019) umpired the race. Boat Race 2018 Matthew Pinsent.jpg
Matthew Pinsent (pictured in 2019) umpired the race.

Following the disruption caused by a protester in the previous year's race, Royal Marines provided support to the security arrangements surrounding the race. [8] Race director David Searle urged nobody to repeat the disruption of 2012, saying "What I would say to anybody thinking of doing that, is that it's unbelievably dangerous ... We had practised emergency stops and it worked". [9] The manner of any potential restart was modified to allow the race re-commence as soon as practicable. [10] The Metropolitan Police had made contact with the protester, Trenton Oldfield, to assist him making a more peaceful protest should he wish to do so, [11] but he declined the offer and did not attend the race in any capacity. [12]

Oxford announced that they had named their boat Acer in honour of former cox Acer Nethercott who had died two months earlier from brain cancer. [13] Nethercott, an Olympic silver medallist in Beijing, had coxed Oxford in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 races. [14]

The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up 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. [15] 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. [5]

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 6 pounds (2.7 kg) per rower more than Cambridge. For the second consecutive year, Cambridge's crew featured just one British rower. [16] Cambridge was coached by Steve Trapmore for the third time, and declared "It's the best crew I've had in my time at Cambridge". [8] [17] Oxford's Sean Bowden who was coaching the university for an eighteenth time, was "very satisfied" with his crew. [8] [17] Milan Bruncvík was the first Czech rower in the history of the Boat Race. [18] Three medallists from the 2012 Summer Olympics featured: Cambridge's George Nash won a bronze for Great Britain in the coxless pair, Oxford's Constantine Louloudis won bronze for Great Britain in the men's eight and his crew-mate Malcolm Howard won silver for Canada in the same event. [11]

Oxford (in dark blue) lead Cambridge (white with light-blue trim) Racing boats during the The Boat Race in spring 2013 (5).JPG
Oxford (in dark blue) lead Cambridge (white with light-blue trim)
SeatOxford
Oxford-University-Circlet.svg 		Cambridge
University of Cambridge coat of arms.svg
NameAgeNationalityWeightHeightNameAgeNationalityWeightHeight
Bow Patrick Close27American14 st 2 lb6 ft 2 inGrant Wilson23American14 st 2 lb6 ft 3 in
2Geordie Macleod21British/American13 st 10 lb6 ft 2 in Milan Bruncvík 28Czech13 st 0 lb6 ft 1 in
3Alexander Davidson (P)22British15 st 2 lb6 ft 5 inAlexander Fleming23Australian15 st 5 lb6 ft 5 in
4Sam O'Connor25New Zealander14 st 0 lb6 ft 1 inTy Otto24American14 st 4 lb6 ft 7 in
5 Paul Bennett 24British15 st 11 lb6 ft 10 in George Nash (P)23British14 st 13 lb6 ft 4 in
6Karl Hudspith25British14 st 8 lb6 ft 6 inSteve Dudek24American16 st 0 lb6 ft 8 in
7 Constantine Louloudis 21British14 st 11 lb6 ft 3 inAlexander Scharp25Australian14 st 9 lb6 ft 6 in
Stroke Malcolm Howard 29Canadian17 st 3 lb6 ft 7 inNiles Garratt24American13 st 8 lb6 ft 4 in
Cox Oskar Zorrilla25American8 st 4 lb5 ft 4 lbHenry Fieldman24British8 st 8 lb5 ft 4 in
Sources: [16] [17]
(P) – boat club president

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. [11] The weather conditions were adverse, with a "brisk wind" and snow flurries prior to the race. [11] The race commenced at 4:31 p.m., and despite a good start from Cambridge, Oxford quickly moved to hold a half-length lead. [11] With blades nearly overlapping, Umpire Pinsent issued warnings to both coxes to avoid a clash, and approaching Hammersmith Bridge, Oxford's lead extended to nearly a length. [11] Cambridge kept in touch despite a push from Oxford, but by Barnes Bridge, Oxford were two lengths clear, and according to James Cracknell, they were "the fastest eight in the world right now." [11] Oxford passed the finishing post 1+1⁄2 lengths clear, in a time of 17 minutes 27 seconds. [5]

In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis defeated Cambridge's Goldie by one third of a length, the smallest margin of victory ever recorded in the reserves race. Oxford won the 68th Women's Boat Race by 1+3⁄4 lengths. [5]

Reaction

Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger presented Oxford with the trophy. [19] Winning cox Zorilla said "It was fun, tough but that was what we expected. We had a plan and we stuck to it ruthlessly." [11] His Light Blue counterpart, Fieldman, remarked: "I asked a lot of the guys and they gave it me every time. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough.” [13]

The BBC apologised for broadcasting Zorilla's repeated swearing. A microphone in the Oxford boat picked up the "bad language" during the latter half of the race which was subsequently broadcast live on both BBC One and the BBC World News channel. [20] Further swearing from Zorilla was broadcast as he emerged from the Thames after the customary soaking of the victorious cox. [20]

Related Research Articles

The Boat Race Rowing race on the River Thames

The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's and women's races, as well as races for reserve crews. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

Acer Gary Nethercott was a British coxswain, Olympic silver medallist and double Boat Race winner.

The Boat Race 2014

The 160th Boat Race took place on 6 April 2014. Following a clash of oars which broke one of the Cambridge boat's rigger backstays, Oxford won the race by 11 lengths, the largest margin of victory since 1973.

The Boat Race 2003 2003 boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities

The 149th Boat Race took place on 6 April 2003. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. The lead changed twice during the race, which Oxford won by one foot (30 cm), the smallest margin of victory in the history of the event. The close race has been described as "epic", while multiple Olympic gold-medallist Steve Redgrave suggested that the race was the "greatest we will see in our lifetimes".

The 148th Boat Race took place on 30 March 2002. Oxford won the race by three-quarters of a length, one of the narrowest margins of victory in the history of the contest.

The Boat Race 2012 2012 boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities

The 158th Boat Race took place on 7 April 2012. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames in London. Despite Cambridge having the heavier crew, Oxford were pre-race favourites having had a successful preparation period, including a victory over Leander. Cambridge won the toss and chose to start on the Surrey side of the river. Partway through, with the boats level, the race was temporarily halted to avoid injury to protester Trenton Oldfield, who swam in front of the two crews. After the race was restarted, one of the Oxford crew suffered irreparable damage to his blade following a clash of oars with the Cambridge boat, ending Oxford's chances of victory. The race was eventually won by Cambridge by 4+1⁄4 lengths, in a consolidated time of 17 minutes 23 seconds.

The 151st Boat Race took place on 27 March 2005. Oxford won the race by two lengths in a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds. The race, umpired by the six-time Boat Race winner Boris Rankov, featured seven Olympic rowers. It was the first time the event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV.

The 150th Boat Race took place on 28 March 2004. Cambridge won by six lengths after a race with several clashes of oars. Oxford's appeal for a re-row upon the conclusion of the race was rejected by umpire James Behrens. The event was sponsored for the final time by Aberdeen Asset Management and broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC.

The Boat Race 2011

The 157th Boat Race took place on 26 March 2011. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race was won by Oxford. Of the eighteen competitors in the race, thirteen were British. The race was sponsored for the second time by Xchanging.

The Boat Race 2010

The 156th Boat Race took place on 3 April 2010. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race was won by Cambridge. Of the eighteen competitors in the race, six were British. Of the non-British rowers, the Oxford crew featured the American Olympic finalists, the Winklevoss twins. It was the first time the race had a title sponsor; it was also known as the "Xchanging Boat Race", having been sponsored by Xchanging.

The 155th Boat Race took place on 29 March 2009. Oxford's crew was the heaviest in the event's history and which featured five Olympic rowers, including silver medallist Colin Smith and bronze medallist George Bridgewater. Cambridge took an early lead, only to be caught and overtaken by Oxford, who won the race by 3+1⁄2 lengths.

The Boat Race 2008

The 154th Boat Race took place on 29 March 2008. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford won the race. Oxford's crew featured the oldest competitor in Boat Race history. The race took place in very difficult weather conditions – strong winds and heavy rain – resulting in the slowest winning time in over sixty years. Oxford won by six lengths, the largest margin of victory since the 2004 race.

The 152nd Boat Race took place on 2 April 2006. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford, whose crew contained the first French rower in the history of the event, won the race by five lengths which was umpired by former Oxford rower Simon Harris.

The 116th Boat Race took place on 28 March 1970. Held annually, it is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. It was won by Cambridge who passed the finishing post 3+1⁄2 lengths ahead of Oxford, securing Cambridge's third consecutive victory. The race was particularly notable for the "unorthodox" steering of the Oxford cox Ashton Calvert.

The Boat Races 2015 Annual race between Oxford and Cambridge universities

The 2015 Boat Races took place on 11 April 2015. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. For the first time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races were all held on the Tideway; in the men's reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie faced Oxford's Isis after the women's race, as a preliminary to the main men's race, while the women's reserve race, held the day before, saw Oxford's Osiris race against Cambridge's Blondie.

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's crew, the heavier of the two, was entirely British, 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 over a 2 km (1.2 mi) straight race as part of the Henley Boat Races.

The 68th Women's Boat Race took place on 24 March 2013. The race, between crews representing Oxford University Women's Boat Club and Cambridge University Women's Boat Club, was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races. It took place on a 2 km (1.2 mi) stretch of water on 2012 Olympic venue Dorney Lake. Cambridge were the heavier of the crews and consisted of an all-British crew, while Oxford's boat included a Hungarian rower and an American cox. Oxford won the race by one and three-quarter lengths in a time of 7 minutes 11 seconds, their first win since the 2011 race. The victory took the overall record in the event to 41–27 in Cambridge's favour.

The Boat Races 2016 2016 boat races between Oxford and Cambridge universities

The 2016 Boat Races took place on 27 March 2016. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. For the first time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races were all held on the Tideway on the same day.

The Boat Race 2018 2018 boat races between Oxford and Cambridge universities

The Boat Race 2018 took place on 24 March 2018. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. For the third time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races were all held on the Tideway on the same day.

The Boat Race 2019 Cambridge vs Oxford rowing race, April 2019

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References

  1. 1 2 "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer . 6 April 2003. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "TV and radio". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Boat Race – Results". The Boat Race Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "Classic moments – the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "BNY Mellon announced as new Boat Race title sponsor". The Boat Race Company Limited. 8 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Quarrell, Rachel (29 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: Royal Marines deployed to prevent repeat of protest which halted crews in 2012". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Boat Race 2013: Organisers to introduce new safety measures". BBC Sport. 14 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Quarrell, Rachel (27 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: organisers introduce new plans to avoid repeat of the disruption which blighted last year's event". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Boat Race 2013: Oxford v Cambridge". BBC Sport. 31 March 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Oldfield, Trenton (30 March 2013). "The boat race protester's prison notebook". The Spectator . Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 Quarrell, Rachel (31 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: Oxford cruise to comfortable victory over Cambridge". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Williamson, Marcus (29 January 2013). "Dr Acer Nethercott: Olympic rowing cox and noted academic". The Independent . Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "A brief history of the Women's Boat Race". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Boat Race 2013: The basics on Oxford v Cambridge". BBC Sport. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 Quarrell, Rachel (29 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: Meet the Cambridge and Oxford crews". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Quarrell, Rachel (28 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: Milan Bruncvik ready to become first Czech to row in race's 159-year history". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  19. ↑ White, Jim (31 March 2013). "University Boat Race 2013: Oxford beat Cambridge in contest that is incredible and horrible". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  20. 1 2 Marsden, Sam (31 March 2013). "BBC apologises for Oxford cox's bad language during Boat Race". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
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