The 153rd The Boat Race took place on 7 April 2007, and featured the most non-British rowers in the history of the event. 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 ...

. The Cambridge crew were considerably heavier than their opponents. Oxford won the toss but Cambridge won the race by lengths in a time of 17 minutes 49 seconds. 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 Cambridge won the 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"). 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 2006 race by five lengths, although Cambridge led overall with 78 victories to Oxford's 73 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was sponsored by

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for the third time. The first Women's Boat Race 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, 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 Cambridge crew (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues") was per man heavier than their Oxford rivals (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues"). The Oxford crew featured four Americans, two Britons, a Canadian, a Croatian and a Pole, while the Cambridge crew consisted of four Britons, two Canadians, two Germans and an American. The race featured the most non-British rowers in the history of the event, and in German

Thorsten Engelmann Thorsten Engelmann (born 20 July 1981 in East Berlin, East Germany) is a German rower. Engelmann started rowing at age 9 because his father was the president of a rowing club in Berlin. He continued training while earning his pre-diploma in econom ...

, the heaviest rower ever.

Rebecca Dowbiggin Rebecca Dowbiggin (11 April 1983 in St Albans, England) was the 7th woman to cox Cambridge in The Boat Race, the annual race against Oxford. Dowbiggin grew up in Cambridge, attending Chesterton Community College and Impington International 6th F ...

became the thirteenth female cox in the race's history and the seventh female cox for Cambridge. Cambridge's head coach was Duncan Holland, his Oxford counterpart was Sean Bowden. Tom James MBE

Race description

Finish of 2007 Oxford-Cambridge boat race

Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. The race 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 ...

Peter Bridge Peter Bridge (born 3 June 1972) is a British rower. He competed in the men's eight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. After winning a World Junior gold medal in the coxless four. Bridge studied at Oriel College, Oxford. He competed in The Boa ...

. Oxford took an early lead, and were just ahead at Hammersmith Bridge. Cambridge edged back into contention by the Chiswick Steps and heading under

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 ...

were a length clear. They passed the finishing post first, in a time of 17 minutes 49 seconds, a length-and-a-quarter ahead of Oxford. It was Cambridge's first victory since 2004 and took their overall lead in the contest to 79–73. At the finish, following tradition, the Cambridge crew threw their cox, Dowbiggin, into the water in celebration. She later said "They flung me a really long way in there, and the water was freezing, but it was worth it." In the reserve race, Cambridge's

beat Oxford's Isis. Earlier, Cambridge won the 62nd Women's Boat Race by half a length.

Reaction

Oxford coach Sean Bowden said "We had a good race and made all the right moves to Hammersmith, but we couldn't quite shake them off and didn't quite have enough lead to defend", while Cambridge's number six Kieran West said "Credit to Oxford. They threw everything they had at us, but we absorbed it all." Cambridge head coach Duncan Holland praised his cox: "Rebecca was magnificent. She steered a superb course. She steered exactly where we thought she should steer and she stayed calm, it was great." Dowbiggin herself recounted: "The guys asked me to be very calm, very relaxed, not to panic, even if Oxford were pushing and moving, I was just like 'okay, they're pushing, they're moving, but we're going to do this'." Bowden criticised the umpire who he claimed "pushed us too tight round the bend. From Hammersmith Bridge on that took away our advantage." Cambridge's

Tom James Thomas James MBE (born 11 March 1984) is a British rower, twice Olympic champion and victorious Cambridge Blue. In a British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021. Background and early life James was bor ...

was finally successful, winning the Boat Race at his fourth attempt: "I really couldn't think about losing this race. Oxford really hounded us. The line was getting closer but never quickly enough."

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 2007 The Boat Race 2007 in English sport 2007 in rowing 2007 sports events in London April 2007 sports events in the United Kingdom