The Boat Race 2021 was an event comprising two
side-by-side rowing races that took place on 4 April 2021.
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 contested annually 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 ...
. Usually held on the traditional
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 ...
in London, the 2021 race took place on the
River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...
near
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely ( ) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about north-northeast of Cambridge and from London.
Ely is built on a Kimmeridge Clay island which, at , is the highest land in the Fens. It was d ...
, between Queen Adelaide Bridge (hamlet of
Queen Adelaide
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy Rom ...
) and Sandhill Bridge (village of
Littleport
Littleport is a large village in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and ...
). This was the 75th women's race and the 166th men's race; the
2020 race was cancelled as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...
. Before the 2021 races, Cambridge led the longstanding rivalry 84–80 in the men's race and 44–30 in the women's.
The crews were announced on 25 March 2021. It was the first time in the history of the event that both the women's and men's races were officiated by female umpires, Judith Packer and
Sarah Winckless
Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.
Early life an ...
respectively. Cambridge's women's crew were considered strong favourites to win their race. Oxford's women's crew took an early lead but Cambridge responded to win. Oxford's men were favourites to defeat Cambridge, but failed to do so: Cambridge won by just under one length. The reserve races took place three weeks later on 25 April 2021: Cambridge completed a clean sweep for a third consecutive year after ''Goldie'' won the men's and ''Blondie'' won the women's reserves race.
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 usually 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 ...
, between Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
and Mortlake
Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...
on 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 ...
in south-west London. The 2020 event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...
. In 2021, the race was held behind closed doors along a section of the River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...
near Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely ( ) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about north-northeast of Cambridge and from London.
Ely is built on a Kimmeridge Clay island which, at , is the highest land in the Fens. It was d ...
. The organisers noted that the move to Ely was not only due to COVID-19, but also safety concerns relating to 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 ...
which had been closed to pedestrians after cracks in the structure had worsened. It was the second time in the event's 191-year history that the race had taken place near Ely: the previous occasion was an unofficial wartime staging of the event in 1944, which Oxford's men won by three-quarters of a length. The 2021 course started at the stone marking the end of that wartime race, and proceeded along a course, from the Queen Adelaide
, house = Saxe-Meiningen
, father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
, mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy Rom ...
Bridge towards Littleport
Littleport is a large village in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and ...
. Only the main men's and women's races were scheduled to take place on the same day — the women's race around 3:50p.m. and the men's an hour later. The reserves races took place three weeks after the main event, on 25 April 2021.[
The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; the race is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide.] Cambridge's men went into the race as champions, having won the 2019 race by a margin of one length, and led overall with 84 victories to Oxford's 80 (the 1877 race was a dead heat). Cambridge's women were also victorious in 2019, winning by five lengths, which took the overall record in 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 ...
to 44–30 in their favour.[
In May 2020, the University of Cambridge's three boat clubs, ]Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...
, Cambridge University Women's Boat Club
Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the W ...
and Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club
Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) was the University rowing club for lightweight male oarsmen at the University of Cambridge, principally to race against Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) annually in the Lightw ...
, agreed to merge into a single club under the Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) name, with Callum Sullivan as the Men's President and Sophie Paine the Women's President. Alex Bebb held the position of Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century.
The Boat Race
The club races agai ...
(OUBC) president for the race while Kaitlyn Dennis was the Oxford University Women's Boat Club
Oxford University Women's Boat Club (OUWBC) is the rowing club for female rowers (and coxes of either sex) who are students at the University of Oxford. The club was founded in 1926 and is now based in Wallingford at the Fleming Boat House ...
(OUWBC) president. The 75th women's race was umpired by international rowing judge Judith Packer, while the 166th men's race was officiated by Olympic bronze medallist Sarah Winckless
Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British former rower. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner Elise Laverick at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.
Early life an ...
. Both had been selected for the cancelled 2020 event, and it was the first time in the history of the event that women oversaw both main races.
The main races were streamed live on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. They were also broadcast on television channels in the United Kingdom (BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
), Canada (TSN2
TSN2 is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel that acts as the secondary feed of sports-centred channel The Sports Network (TSN) and owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. It was launched in its current form on August 29, 2008.
F ...
), Israel (Sport 3), New Zealand ( Sky Sport 9), Spain (Teledeporte
Teledeporte (TDP) is a Spanish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Televisión Española (TVE), the television division of state-owned public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). It is the corporation's sports telev ...
) and throughout most of Africa ( SuperSport).
Coaches
Sean Bowden was the chief coach for OUBC, having been responsible for the senior men's crew since 1997, winning 12 from the last 18 races. He is a former Great Britain Olympic coach and coached the Light Blues in the 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and 1994 Boat Races. His assistant coach was Brendan Gliddon, a South African who formerly coached under-23 and FISU
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, en, International University Sports Federation) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 2 ...
teams for both South Africa and Great Britain. Alex Bowmer was OUBC's physical therapist. The OUWBC chief coach was Andy Nelder, who previously worked with Bowden and OUBC for eleven years. He was assisted by James Powell.
The Cambridge men's crew coaching team was led by their chief coach, Rob Baker, who had previously coached Cambridge's women to victories in both the 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and 2018 races, and Cambridge's men to a win in 2019. Cambridge women's chief coach was Robert Weber, who joined Cambridge University before the 2019 race from Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, where he was Head Rowing Coach and Associate Professor of Physical Education. CUBC's assistant coaches were Paddy Ryan, Katy Knowles, Nick Acock and Jordan Stanley.
Trials
Each year before Christmas, each squad stages a race between two of their eights over the Boat Race distance called Trial VIIIs. Normally, these are held on the Championship Course. To minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the trials took place on the Great Ouse behind closed doors and there was no pre-race social media or marketing. Cambridge trials took place on 17 December 2020 and Oxford's races were staged two days later. Because of restrictions imposed by the university, Oxford had been prevented from practising on the water until 11 December 2020. As a result of changes to the UK's COVID-19 tier system, neither Winckless nor Packer were able to travel to Ely and both of Oxford's trial races were umpired by Kath Finucane, the reserve race official.[
]
Women
The CUBC women's trial featured the boats ''Hakuna'' and ''Matata'', named after the Swahili phrase which approximates to "no worries" used in ''The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...
'' film. In fine conditions and umpired by Packer, ''Matata'' made the better start to lead by half a length at 500m. At the inlet from the River Lark
The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have be ...
, ''Hakuna'' cox, Angela Harper, moved her boat into the middle of the river to take advantage of the faster flowing stream. ''Matata'' took the led around the 3,000m mark and pulled away to win in a time of 16 minutes 5 seconds, two lengths ahead of ''Hakuna''.
OUWBC's trial boats were named after two of the pharmaceutical companies developing COVID-19 vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
s: Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
and AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...
.[ ''Pfizer'' took an early lead and held an advantage of three-quarters of a length, but steering too close to their opponents, they clashed oars with ''AstraZeneca'' and were warned by Finucane. Five minutes into the race, ''Pfizer'' held a two-length lead and moved to the centre of the river. They extended their lead to three lengths before ''AstraZeneca'' reduced the deficit by half a length. As the crews passed the finishing line, ''Pfizer'' won by three lengths.
]
Men
The CUBC men's trial boats were named ''Henry I'' and ''10,000 Eels'' to reflect Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
's annual order of lamprey
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...
s from Ely. Officiated by Winckless, both crews started strongly with ''Henry I'' holding a half-length lead after 500m. They extended their lead by a quarter of length by 750m and their cox attempted to move across to the centre of the river, receiving multiple warnings from Winckless. ''10,000 Eels'' held their line and pulled back to within half a length by 1,250m and while both crews pushed for the final 500m, ''Henry I'' crossed the finishing line in 14 minutes 4 seconds, one third of a length ahead.[
The OUBC trial boats were named ''Track'' and ''Trace'', after the ]NHS Test and Trace
NHS Test and Trace is a government-funded service in England, established in 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Despite its name, the programme was never in fact run by the NHS: the programme is part of the UK Health Secur ...
system designed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. ''Trace'' took an early lead in a race that was initially dominated by oar clashes. ''Track'' began to reduce the deficit as the crews passed the Lark, and following another clash, took the lead and held clear water advantage with 1,000m to go, eventually beating ''Trace'' by two lengths.[
]
Crews
The crews for both senior boats were announced on 25 March 2021, on a Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
call. The Cambridge women were considered strong favourites to win their race while Oxford's men were favoured to win.[
]
Women
Men
Races
Conditions on race day were reasonably clement with a temperature of and clear skies with a westward crosswind.
Women's
Cambridge won the toss and elected to start on the west side of the river.[ After a brief delay before both coxes indicated they were ready to start, the race commenced at 3:53p.m. Early on Oxford were warned by Packer for encroaching into Cambridge's water and were instructed to steer away, and Cambridge took a slight lead. Both boats were close to one another and four minutes in, Oxford held a slight advantage, although Packer continued to warn the Dark Blue cox. After seven minutes, Oxford was around a third of a length ahead as Cambridge started a push, taking a lead with fourteen minutes of the race gone. The Light Blues held a length's lead a minute later and although Oxford remained in touch, Cambridge passed the finishing line first.] It was Cambridge's fourth consecutive victory and took the overall record in the event to 45–30 in their favour.[
]
Men's
Oxford took the west side of the river.[ The men's race started at 4:53p.m. with Oxford falling behind despite a slightly higher ]stroke rate
In competitive rowing, the following specialized terms are important in the corresponding aspects of the sport:
Boat classes
In competitive rowing events, abbreviations are used for different boat classes.
;Weight:
*L, LWT or Lt: Lightweight ...
than their opponents. Within two minutes, Cambridge was almost a length ahead but was warned several times by Winckless for encroachment. Four minutes in, she issued a warning to both crews of potential debris in the river ahead which both crews navigated without issue. Oxford then went for a push in the sixth minute but Cambridge remained in the lead, although down to half a length. At the ten-minute mark, Cambridge pushed before Oxford reciprocated two minutes later and, with less than remaining, the Dark Blues began to reduce the deficit. Cambridge passed the finishing line first, winning by almost one length.[ It was Cambridge's fourth victory in the last five races, and took the overall record in the event to 85–80 in their favour.][
]
Reaction
According to tradition, both winning coxes were thrown into the river, however this year they were followed by the victorious crews. Sarah Tisdall, Cambridge's stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
, was magnanimous in victory: "Awesome race, massive congrats to Oxford. That's the closest boat race the females have had." The Cambridge women's president Sophie Paine received the trophy and noted that "I think this is absolutely historic for women. So many of us have been training for this for two years now, and it means so much for us to have that pay off."[
]James Cracknell
James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British athlete, rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List.
Biography
Cracknell began rowing whilst ...
suggested that the Oxford men's cox should have "steered into those reeds and forced a restart".[ The bow for Cambridge men's boat, Theo Weinberger, suggested that he would "dream of this moment... it's two years' worth of training and hard work... there's anything you can quite compare it to."] Cambridge's men's president Callum Sullivan described the season as "fantastically unique".[
The winning margin in both races was less than one length, which was the narrowest in the men's race since ]2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and in the women's race since 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
.[
]
Reserves
Both reserves races were held along the same section of the River Great Ouse three weeks later, on 25 April 2021. CUBC's ''Blondie'' beat Oxford's ''Osiris'' in the 49th women's reserve boat race by seven lengths. In the 56th men's reserve race, CUBC's ''Goldie'' secured a six-length victory over OUBC's ''Isis''. CUBC Women's spare pair won their race easily after the OUWBC spare pair capsized in rough water at Ely, OUBC won the men's spare pair race.
Lightweights
The 2021 Lightweight Boat Races were also held at Ely. On 18 May 2021, CUBC Lightweight Women beat Oxford University Women's Lightweight Rowing Club
The Oxford University Women's Lightweight Rowing Club was established in 1984 to represent the University of Oxford in the race against the Cambridge University Boat Club at the Lightweight Boat Races. Throughout the season, the Club races a ...
by 2 1/2 lengths. In the Lightweight Men's Boat Race on 23 May 2021, OULRC beat CUBC Lightweight Men by 1 1/2 lengths, thus preventing a Cambridge clean sweep of all 6 boat races, last achieved in 2018.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 2021, The
The Boat Race
Women's Boat Race
2021 in rowing
2021 in English sport
2020s in Cambridgeshire
Ely, Cambridgeshire
River Great Ouse
April 2021 sports events in the United Kingdom
2021 in English women's sport