The 140th Boat Race took place on 26 March 1994. 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 by lengths. The race saw the first competitors from Norway in the history of the race, in brothers Snorre and Sverke Lorgen. It was also the first time that both competing coxes had previously won the event. 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 ...

defeated Oxford's Isis, while 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. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1993 race by lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with 70 victories to Oxford's 68 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was sponsored by Beefeater Gin for the eighth consecutive year. 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 ...

, 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 preparing for the race, Cambridge had defeated crews from both

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...

and

Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...

. Meanwhile, Oxford lost out to

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete at ...

's lightweight crew, but narrowly defeated the

University of London Boat Club University of London Boat Club (ULBC; boat code ULO) is the rowing club for the University of London and its member institutions, many of which also have their own boat clubs. The club has its boathouse on the Thames in Chiswick, London, UK. I ...

. They went on to secure victory in the Reading Head of the River race before head coach Richard Tinkler and his assistant Tim Bramfitt were removed from their positions. Fred Smallbone was installed as finishing coach for the Dark Blues whose build-up concluded with a loss to Leander. Cambridge were coached throughout by Harry Mahon, John Wilson and Sean Bowden.

Crews

The crews weighed-in at

The Hurlingham Club The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the Fulham area of London, England. Founded in 1869, it has a Georgian-style clubhouse set in of grounds. It is a member of the Association of London Clubs. Hist ...

five days prior to the race. Oxford weighed an average of 14 st 7 lb (91.6 kg) per rower, more than their opponents. Oxford's crew featured two Norwegian brothers in Snorre and Sverke Lorgen, the first rowers from their country to participate in the Boat Race, both of whom had participated in both world championship and Olympic races. Oxford Boat Club president Kingsley Poole referred to them as "Herdy and Gerdy". He noted: "They've got some kind of kin thing where they can just switch on and go nuts". Cambridge welcomed back five 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 ...

while Oxford saw three return in the form of Michels, Poole and Chick.

Race

Cambridge were considered to be pre-race favourites. Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station. After a poor start, which Oxford's cox Chick referred to as "a bit ropey", Cambridge took an early lead and were five seconds ahead at the Mile Post. They extended their advantage to eight seconds 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, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

and sixteen by Chiswick Steps. Poor steering from Haycock combined with determination from Oxford to stay in touch kept the Cambridge from moving too much further ahead; the Light Blues passed the finishing post in 18 minutes and 9 seconds, lengths and 20 seconds ahead of the Dark Blues. It was Cambridge's first back-to-back victory since 1973. The race was umpired by former Cambridge Blue John Garrett. In the reserve race, Cambridge's

won by thirteen lengths over Isis, their seventh victory in eight years. Cambridge won the 49th Women's Boat Race a week earlier, a race at

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, by one length in a time of 6 minutes and 11 seconds, their fifth victory in six years.

Reaction

Cambridge's boat club president Jon Bernstein said "it does not get any better than that." The Cambridge number four, Richard Phelps, was more descriptive: "It was a bitch of a race. We never cruised."

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1994 The Boat Race 1994 in English sport 1994 in rowing 1994 sports events in London

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...