The 121st Boat Race took place on 29 March 1975. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

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, se ...

. Cambridge won their seventh race in eight years by lengths in a time of 19 minutes and 27 seconds. The race was umpired by former Oxford rower

Christopher Davidge Christopher Guy Vere Davidge, of Little Houghton House, OBE DL (5 November 1929 – 22 December 2014) was a British rower who competed in the Summer Olympics three times in 1952, 1956 and 1960 and won the Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta ...

. In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's Goldie by lengths. Cambridge won the 30th Women's Boat Race.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

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

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken 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 rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of th ...

on the

in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities, followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with 67 victories to Oxford's 52 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The umpire for the race was

, who had rowed for Oxford in the

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and 1952 races, and was a non-rowing Oxford University Boat Club president for the 1950 race. 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. 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. In the month leading up to the race, Cambridge's crew saw some significant changes, including the removal of David Sturge (who had rowed in the 1973 race) due to glandular fever. However, the Cambridge boat club president Steve Tourek was circumspect: "Cambridge might be slower than planned but still fast enough to beat Oxford." On 24 March 1975, Cambridge beat Oxford's record time (set five days earlier) between Hammersmith Bridge and the Mile Post by two seconds. The following day, Oxford's coach

Dan Topolski Daniel "Dan" Topolski (4 June 1945 – 21 February 2015) was a British author, rower, rowing coach and commentator on BBC television. He studied at the University of Oxford where he represented the Blue boat twice, in 1967 and 1968. In 1977, he w ...

(who had rowed for the Dark Blues in the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and 1968 races) revealed that the Oxford reserve crew, Isis, had equalled the record time, downplaying Cambridge's efforts: "Shows how fast conditions really were yesterday." Cambridge coach Lou Barry remarked of his charges: "this is a fast crew".

Crews

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 13 st 9.75 lb (86.8 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Oxford's crew contained two former

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in boat club president Nick Tee and stroke Graham Innes, while Cambridge saw Nick Bradley and Henry Clay return from the 1974 boat. Although the British international rower David Sturge was replaced through illness prior to the race, the Light Blues also saw international-standard rowers Alistair Christie and James Macleod in the crew, both of whom had withdrawn from selection for the 1974 race to represent Great Britain.Burnell, p. 30 Only two competitors in the race were registered as "overseas" Blues, Oxford's number five John Hutchings and his counterpart and Tourek, both from the United States.Burnell, p. 39

Race

Cambridge started as pre-race favourite; according to the author and former rower

Dickie Burnell Richard Desborough Burnell (26 July 1917 – 29 January 1995) was an English rower who won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympics alongside Bert Bushnell in the double sculls. He and his father Charles are the only father and son in Olympic history ...

, although Oxford had some "useful new recruits" no-one "outside their immediate camp thought they could win." Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. Oxford took an early lead, but by the Mile Post, Cambridge had recovered to lead by two seconds. Extending their lead, the Light Blues gained a clear water advantage by

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

and moved in front of the Dark Blue boat. Shooting Hammersmith Bridge five seconds ahead, Cambridge held a length-and-a-quarter lead, which they defended against a number of Oxford pushes. Midway round the Surrey bend, Oxford's bow man Andrew Baird's oar came out of its gate, allowing Cambridge to increase their lead by another length. A seven-second lead at Chiswick Steps was extended to nine seconds by

Barnes Bridge Barnes Bridge railway station, in Travelcard Zone 3, is on The Terrace, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. It is on the Houn ...

, and along the final bend, Cambridge pushed their lead further out to nearly four lengths, passing the finishing post in 19 minutes 27 seconds, thirteen seconds ahead of their rivals. It was Cambridge's seventh victory in the previous eight years, having lost to Oxford in 1974. In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's

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

by lengths, their first win since the 1966 race. In the 30th running of the Women's Boat Race, Cambridge triumphed, winning their 13th consecutive race.

Reaction

Oxford's Baird claimed "I might have caught a crab, but I do not really know what happened." Cambridge number six MacLeod said of the Dark Blues: "They kept coming at us time and time again. I was only sure of victory in the last mile of the race." Christopher Dodd, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was impressed: "The contest had a rare element ... it was a race nearly all the way, and was not all over in the first 20 stokes as has so often been the case in recent years." Burnell suggested it was a race for the aficionados: "This was surely one of those so common Boat Races, which are hard fought all the way, yet never exciting from the point of view of the average spectator."

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1975 The Boat Race 1975 in English sport 1975 in rowing 1975 sports events in London March 1975 sports events in the United Kingdom