The 136th Boat Race took place on 31 March 1990. 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 ...

. Oxford won by lengths. The race featured the heaviest oarsman ever to have rowed in the event in Oxford's Chris Heathcote, and the lightest Cambridge crew for nearly 30 years. In the reserve race, 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 ...

won as Oxford's Isis was disqualified. Cambridge won the

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

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. There are separate men's ...

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"). 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 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 and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1989 race by lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with 69 victories to Oxford's 65 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The first

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 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 ...

, 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 race was umpired by former Cambridge

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

Mike Sweeney, his fourth appearance in the role. He had advised the coxes that he would not be afraid to disqualify either crew should he need to: "If I warn them, it's irrelevant what their opinion is. If they respond, fine. If not, they're in trouble." The race was sponsored by Beefeater Gin who, prior to the race, had signed a three-year contract to continue their involvement in the race, worth £250,000. The BBC also extended their deal with a new five-year contract to broadcast the race in the United Kingdom.

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 14 st 12 lb (94.1 kg) per rower, 2 stone 1.5 lb (13.3 kg) more than Cambridge whose crew was the lightest since 1963. The race featured the heaviest oarsman ever to have rowed in the event, with Oxford's Chris Heathcote weighing 17 st 5 lb (114.5 kg). Oxford's crew were also older and more experienced, with three

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

bronze medal winners in Jonathan Searle,

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...

and

Rupert Obholzer Rupert Obholzer (born 27 March 1970 in Cape Town) is a British rower. He was educated at Hampton School along with Johnny and Greg Searle and then St Catherine's College, Oxford, where he stroked the dark blue boat to victory in the 19 ...

. Three of Oxford's crew had won two Boat Races each, while Cambridge featured 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 ...

who had won none. Cambridge's cox Lisa Ross-Magenty had won with both the women's lightweight race in 1987 and Goldie in 1988, her counterpart Martin Watts was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and "spent hours on the Tideway". Boat Race 2018 Matthew Pinsent

Races

Cambridge were underdogs for the race, having lost all but one of the previous fourteen Boat Races. Cambridge president Paddy Mant won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. A minute into the race, Cambridge held a third-of-a-length advantage, but as the crews approached the Fulham bend, Oxford drew alongside. Intelligent coxing from Oxford's Watts gained Oxford a lead of a length after three minutes. With clear water at

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 ...

, Watts attempted to steer in front of Cambridge but was warned off by umpire Sweeney. Oxford passed below

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, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

holding a four-second advantage and made a push, taking the lead out to six seconds by Chiswick Steps. Settling for a lower rating, Oxford were eight seconds clear by

Barnes Railway 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 ...

, and despite a late surge by Cambridge, Oxford passed the finishing post seven seconds and lengths ahead. The crews recorded the fourth- and fifth-fastest times in Boat Race history. In the reserve race, Cambridge's

won as Oxford's Isis were disqualified. After Isis had taken a three-quarter-length lead, a clash of blades resulted in irreparable damage to the Cambridge boat and a red flag from the umpire John Garrett. Cambridge won the 45th

by lengths in a time of 7 minutes and 17 seconds, their third victory in four years.

Reaction

Lord Jenkins presented the Beefeater Trophy to winning president Searle. Cambridge coach Mark Lees said of his crew "It was the best they could do." and of Adam Wright, his stroke, who "relentlessly drove Cambridge", he commented: "It was one of the most courageous things I have ever seen". Lees' counterpart, Steve Royle, acknowledged "Cambridge raced very well."

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1990 The Boat Race 1990 in English sport 1990 in rowing March 1990 sports events in the United Kingdom 1990 sports events in London