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 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 ...

. Umpired by a former

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, 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 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 in a record time, 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 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 Jonathan "Jonny" William C. Searle (born 8 May 1969) is a British rower and business man. Along with his brother Gregory, and coxswain Garry Herbert, Searle won the gold medal in the coxed pair event at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Early ...

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 come ...

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 Penelope Ann "Penny" Chuter OBE (born 28 July 1942) is a British former international sculler, rowing coach and rowing administrator. Chuter competed for Great Britain in the women's single scull event at the European Rowing Championships each y ...

, 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, 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, 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 ...

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, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

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

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 ...

, 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 daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' 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 English sport 1996 in rowing 1996 sports events in London April 1996 sports events in the United Kingdom