The 142nd Boat Race took place on 6 April 1996. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Umpired by a former

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

, Mike Sweeney, Cambridge won by lengths in the second-fastest time in the history of the race. In the reserve race, Cambridge's

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

defeated Oxford's Isis in a record time, while Cambridge won the

Women's Boat Race The Women's Boat Race is an annual rowing (sport), rowing race between Cambridge University Boat Club and Oxford University Women's Boat Club. First rowed in 1927, the race has taken place annually since 1964. Since the The Boat Races 2015, 20 ...

Background

The Boat Race 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. It is also known as the U ...

is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for sport rowing, rowing races, particularly the The Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course ...

on the

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 1995 race by four lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with 72 victories to Oxford's 68 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The first

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 The Henley Boat Races were a series of annual rowing races between various crews representing the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The event included the Lightweight Men's Boat Race from 1975 to 2018, the Women's Boat R ...

, 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. The previous year's race was watched by seven million viewers in the United Kingdom alone. Oxford coach Dan Topolski suggested that part of the appeal was that the contest was "absolutely amateur" but still "represents quality". Former Oxford

and Olympic gold medallist Jonny Searle agreed, calling the Boat Race "a unique experience". Both Topolski and Searle predicted a close race; Cambridge coach

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

agreed: "We've got to accord Oxford some respect. I think we're again the better crew ... but the only way to find out is on the water." Penny Chuter, one of the other Oxford coaches, noted "Cambridge have a continuity ... but we have more power this year." Cambridge's boat club president John Carver had earlier withdrawn from the race with injury. Oxford's director of rowing, Steve Royle, said of his crew: "these guys love a scrap." The 250 officers from Wandsworth Police lining the embankments were able to replace their traditional helmets for peaked caps for the first time, in order to discourage members of the crowd from removing them and throwing them into the river. The race was sponsored for the tenth consecutive year by

Beefeater Gin Beefeater Gin is a brand of gin owned by Pernod Ricard and bottled and distributed in the United Kingdom. Beefeater remained in the control of its founding Burrough family until 1987. The Beefeater distillery is one of 24 in London. The name ...

, and umpired by former Cambridge Blue Mike Sweeney.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of more per rower than their opponents. Each crew saw just one former Blue return, Clegg for Oxford and Barnett for Cambridge, in addition to Barnett, Cambridge's crew contained five former Goldie rowers. Oxford's crew contained more international rowers with four Americans and a Canadian.

Race

Cambridge started as pre-race favourites. They won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. After a close start, where neither boat took a significant lead, Cambridge were a half a length up at the Mile Post. They pushed on at

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, England, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be t ...

to take two thirds of a length lead over Oxford by

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, with Barnes in the London Boroug ...

. Under pressure from the Dark Blues, Whyman steered his crew to record times between the Mile Post and

Barnes Bridge Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the S ...

, Hammersmith Bridge to Barnes Bridge, Chiswick Steps to Barnes Bridge and Chiswick Steps to the finishing post. Cambridge won by lengths in a time of 16 minutes 58 seconds, the second-fastest time on record (thirteen seconds slower than the winning time in the 1984 race). In the reserve race, Cambridge's

won by eleven lengths, in a record time, over Isis. It was Cambridge's ninth victory in ten years. Cambridge won the 51st Women's Boat Race by four lengths in a time of 6 minutes and 12 seconds, their seventh victory in eight years.

Reaction

During the race, David Miller of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' claimed that Cambridge's stroke James Ball "conducted a continual tactical conversation with Kevin Whyman, the Cambridge cox". Miller suggested that while Oxford were the more powerful crew, Cambridge were technically superior. Oxford coach Chuter concluded: "we did not find the cohesive and relaxed rhythm which we have had." Her counterpart, Williams, exclaimed "you have got to be happy with that".

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1996 The Boat Race 1996 in rowing 1996 in sport in London April 1996 sports events in the United Kingdom