The 152nd Boat Race took place on 2 April 2006. 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, whose crew contained the first French rower in the history of the event, won the race by five lengths which was umpired by former Oxford rower Simon Harris. In the reserve race

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 ...

beat Isis and Oxford 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 2005 race by two lengths, while Cambridge led overall with 78 victories to Oxford's 72 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was sponsored by

Xchanging Xchanging is a business process and technology services provider and integrator, owned by DXC Technology, providing business services to the commercial insurance industry. In outsourcing, Xchanging will typically take over a customer's business ...

for the second consecutive year, and was umpired by former Oxford

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 ...

Simon Harris. 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.

Crews

The Oxford crew, whose average age was 24, comprised four Britons, two Canadians, two Americans and, in Bastien Ripoll, the first French rower to participate in the contest. Cambridge's crew, with an average age of 26, consisted of three Britons, three Germans, an Australian, an American and a Canadian. Tom James MBE

Race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station where they were afforded some shelter from the inclement conditions with strong winds creating choppy water. Under cloudy skies, Oxford took an early lead but Cambridge came back into contention and held a half-a-length lead at

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. As they crews passed under

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 ...

, "wind and waves engulfed the boats and both seemed to check". Oxford drew level and their cox Seb Pearce called for a push; his crew responded, moving away from Cambridge in the rough water. Extending their lead out to two lengths by the Bandstand, Oxford pulled further away winning by five lengths in a time of 18 minutes and 26 seconds. In the reserve race, Cambridge's

beat Oxford's Isis. Earlier, Oxford won the 61st

by half-a-length in a time of 5 minutes 54 seconds.

Reaction

Cambridge coach Duncan Holland suggested "it's pretty hard to row with a boat full of water" while his cox Rudge claimed "Oxford were a little bit sheltered and it made a big difference". His counterpart, Oxford cox Pearce, was jubilant: "It was awesome. I didn't expect it work out that way but it was great. All along we were the better crew. The bookies just got it wrong." Cambridge Boat Club president Edwards said "They handled the conditions better than us and that was it ... There was no more we could have done." Oxford's president Barney Williams said "We were pushed really hard" while his French crew-mate Ripoll claimed "the key moment was along the island, in a washing machine".

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 2006 The Boat Race 2006 in English sport 2006 in rowing 2006 sports events in London April 2006 sports events in the United Kingdom