The 2015 Boat Races took place on 11 April 2015. Held annually,

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 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 a tidal stretch of 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. For the first time in the history of the event, the men's,

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

and both reserves' races were all held on the

Tideway The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending on ...

; in the men's 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 ...

faced Oxford's Isis after the women's race, as a preliminary to the main men's race, while the women's reserve race, held the day before, saw Oxford's Osiris race against Cambridge's Blondie. Oxford's women won the first running of the Women's Boat Race on the Tideway, and the 70th overall, by six and a half lengths, to take the overall record in the event to 41–29 in Cambridge's favour. Oxford also won the men's reserve race, with Isis winning by three lengths. In the main men's race, umpired by the six-time

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 ...

Boris Rankov Nikolas Boris Rankov (born 9 August 1954) is a British professor of Roman history at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a former rower and current umpire. Early life, education and family Rankov was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, th ...

, Oxford won by six and a half lengths in a time of 17 minutes 34 seconds, taking the overall record in the event to 81–79 in Cambridge's favour. The women's reserve race was won by Oxford's Osiris by fifteen lengths, making the overall record 21–20 in Cambridge's favour.

Background

, sometimes called the University 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 ...

, 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

in south-west London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as champions, having won the 2014 race by a margin of eleven lengths, but Cambridge led overall with 81 victories to Oxford's 78 (excluding the "dead heat to Oxford by five feet" of 1877). It was the first time in the history of The Boat Race that the three main races, the men's, women's and men's reserves', were held on the same day and on the same course along the

. Prior to this year, the women's race which first took place in 1927, was usually held at 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 ...

along the course. However, on at least two occasions in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, the women competed on the Thames between Chiswick and Kew. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 2014 race by four lengths, with Cambridge leading 41–28 overall. For the third year, the men's race was sponsored by

BNY Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Finan ...

while the women's race saw BNY Mellon's subsidiary Newton Investment Management as sponsors. It was part of the sponsorship deal with Newton Investment Management that mandated the women's race to be rowed on the same course and with the same funding as the men's race. According to their chief executive, Helena Morrissey, the company "didn't just want a name on a shirt; twanted to do something meaningful". The women's race was scheduled to take place at 4:50 pm, the men's reserves' race half an hour later and the men's race a further half-hour after that at 5:50 pm. The women's reserve race between Cambridge's Blondie and Oxford's Osiris took place on the Tideway for the first time, one day before the main races, at 4:05 pm. Boat Race 2015 - Boris Rankov

The television historian and former Oxford rower

Dan Snow Daniel Robert Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British popular historian and television presenter. Early life and education Born in Westminster, London Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow, BBC television journalist, and Canadian Ann Mac ...

(who represented the Dark Blues in the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and 2001 races) said: "Most televised sport is a carnival of misogyny so it is great news that the Boat Race is leading the way in ensuring that women take their rightful place alongside men." The BBC sports broadcaster

Eleanor Oldroyd Eleanor Oldroyd (born in Bury, Lancashire, 2 June 1962) is a British sports broadcaster with BBC Radio. Early life Oldroyd was educated at Oxford High School and Girton College at Cambridge University. Broadcasting career Beginning her career i ...

suggested that scheduling the races on the same course and day was "a game-changing move" for female sport, and "now they've achieved equality – same course, same distance, same , same BBC TV coverage, to an expected global audience of 100 million". The television presenter

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...

opted to cover the women's race instead of the

2015 Grand National The 2015 Grand National (officially known as the 2015 Crabbie's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 168th annual running of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. The showpiece steeplechase took ...

, claiming that the combined rowing event would have a "ripple effect all across society, business and sport". The autumn reception was held at the London headquarters of BNY Mellon. As Oxford had won the previous year's race, it was Cambridge's responsibility to offer the traditional challenge to the Dark Blues. To that end, Alexander Leichter and Caroline Reid, presidents of the Cambridge boat clubs, challenged

Constantine Louloudis Constantine Michael Louloudis (born 15 September 1991) is a Greek-British Rowing (sport), rower. He is an Olympic Games, Olympic champion, two time World Rowing Championships, world champion and four time The Boat Race, Boat Race winner. Perso ...

and Anastasia Chitty, their counterparts, who duly accepted. Umpires for the senior races were announced on 4 March: the former Cambridge rower Simon Harris, who represented the Light Blues in the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and 1983 races oversaw the Women's race, while the six-time Oxford Blue Boris Rankov umpired the men's race for the fourth time. Rob Clegg, the umpire of the 2011 race oversaw the men's reserve race while the 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 ...

umpired the women's reserve race.

Coaches

The Cambridge men's crew coaching team was led by their Chief Coach

Steve Trapmore Stephen Patrick Trapmore (born 18 March 1975) is an English rowing coach and former rower who represented Great Britain at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He is currently the High Performance Coach within the Great Britain Olympic Rowing pro ...

. Appointed to the post in 2010, Trapmore was a gold medal-winning member of the men's eight at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. He was assisted by Ed Green, the former head coach at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

and development coach at

Molesey Boat Club Molesey Boat Club is a rowing club between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock on the River Thames in England. The club was founded in 1866 where its boathouse stands with hardstanding next to the Thames Path. Molesey has been the organising or sup ...

. Green's primary responsibility will be to coach Goldie. Mark Beer, former Cambridge University Boat Club assistant coach, was appointed as the development coach for the Light Blues. Sean Bowden returned as Chief Coach for Oxford, having been responsible for the senior men's crew since 1997. He was 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 Andy Nelder who has coached the senior boat since 2006. Oxford's women's Head Coach was the Canadian Christine Wilson who had previously assisted in coaching the United States Olympic team and held the position of Head Coach of women's rowing at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. She was assisted by Natasha Townsend who had represented Great Britain in the women's eights at two Olympics. Cambridge were coached by the former Goldie coach Rob Baker who was assisted by Paddy Ryan and Nick Acock, along with two guest coaches in Jonathan Condor and Annie Vernon; Ed Hallam was their strength and conditioning coach.

Trials

Women's trials

The trials took place on The Championship Course on 9 December 2014, in each case being the first and only time the crews would have to practice the route while racing side-by-side. Both races were umpired by Simon Harris in windy conditions.

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 Hous ...

's (OUWBC) trial eights, ''Real Life'' and ''Fantasy'', set off at 1:15 p.m. ''Real Life'', starting from the Middlesex station, made a better start and were three seats ahead at the Town Buoy before holding a length's lead after the first bend. Following a warning from Harris as the crews approached

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 ...

, the lead was reduced to half-a-length around the Surrey bend. ''Fantasy'' allowed ''Real Life'' to take a clear water advantage by the Bandstand, and they pulled away at

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 ...

to win by three lengths. The Oxford coach Christine Wilson noted that "today the crews pushed each other to know the course and to take risks when a racing opportunity presents itself". The two boats in the

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 ...

(CUWBC) trials were denoted as ''Rise'' and ''Grind'', with the race commencing at 2:30 p.m. Starting from the Surrey station, ''Rise'', despite the lower stroke rate, were half a length ahead within the first 20 strokes, and held a length's lead by

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

. They gradually extended their lead to two lengths by Hammersmith Bridge, three by Chiswick Steps and finished five lengths ahead of ''Grind''. Cambridge's coach Rob Baker was mildly disappointed but remained upbeat, suggesting "Though I would have liked a closer race, I saw some excellent performances".

Men's trials

The men's trials took place along The Championship Course on 11 December 2014, and according to the author Chris Dodd, were held in conditions "perfect ... for coaches in the process of testing their men and trying to seat people in the right order". Both races were umpired by Boris Rankov, the former Oxford

who rowed for the Dark Blues on a record six occasions. Phil Hughes

Cambridge's senior men's trial boats were called ''63'' and ''Not Out'' in honour of the Australian

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

Phillip Hughes Phillip Joel Hughes (30 November 1988 – 27 November 2014) was an Australian Test and One Day International (ODI) cricketer who played domestic cricket for South Australia and Worcestershire. He was a left-handed opening batsman who play ...

who had died earlier in the year after being struck in the neck by a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

during a domestic match. ''Not Out'' made the better start but lost their canvas-length lead by Barn Elms, and the crews passed the Mile Post level. Shooting Hammersmith Bridge, ''63'' were half a length down, and a length-and-a-half down by Chiswick Steps. ''Not Out'' held a two-length lead by the time the crews passed under Barnes Bridge which they extended to two-and-three-quarters by the finishing post. Dodd described the race as "epic", while senior coach Trapmore expressed his contentment with the trial suggesting "it is an invaluable exercise." The Oxford trial saw ''Per Terram'' line up against ''Per Mare'', so named to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the foundation of the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

whose motto is "Per Mare, Per Terram" ("By sea, by land"). ''Per Terram'', stroked by the

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 ...

president Louloudis, took an early lead and were half-a-length ahead before ''Per Mare'' recovered the deficit to be level by Barn Elms. A spurt from ''Per Terram'' at the Mile Post saw them regain the lead but 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 ...

, ''Per Mare'' took the lead back, shooting Hammersmith Bridge precisely and holding a three-quarter length lead by St Paul's School. Both crews experienced fierce winds with ''Per Terram'' coping better and taking a half-length advantage. ''Per Mare'' kept in touch through to Barnes Bridge but ''Per Terram'' pushed on and passed the finishing post with a winning margin of two lengths. Oxford's coach Bowden was cautious, stating that the "trial shows that Oxford is in good shape, but this race is not the only bit of the trials process". Dodd described the race as "cracking".

Build-up

Women's

On 25 January 2015, a CUWBC crew raced against a crew from

Newcastle University Boat Club Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) is the rowing club of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat club for Armstrong College, it celebrated its centenary in 2 ...

along three sections of the Championship Course. Cambridge won all three races with relative ease, and their boat club president Reid, rowing at number four, reflected that it had been "a useful experience". Cambridge raced against an

Imperial College Boat Club Imperial College Boat Club is the rowing club for Imperial College and has its boat house on the River Thames on the Putney embankment, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1919. The alumni also run a boat club which is known as the Queen' ...

crew on 8 March over two sections of the Tideway course, first between the start and Hammersmith Bridge, before racing between the Mile Post and Chiswick Steps. The first leg was declared to be too close to call by the umpire Simon Harris, while the second ended in a two-thirds length victory to the Light Blues. OUWBC raced against Molesey Boat Club on 21 February 2015, in three stages on the Tideway, and comfortably won each race. This was followed by a race against Imperial College Boat Club on 22 March over three sections of the Thames. Imperial were waterlogged in the first piece, but Oxford easily won the second and third races. OUWBC were rescued by the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) on the Thames on 1 April 2015 after becoming waterlogged in rough conditions. They were inadvertently discovered stranded during an RNLI exercise. Prior to race day, Rachel Quarrell, the former Oxford

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

(who steered OUWBC in the 1991 race) writing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' noted that "since the start of this season the Oxford women have been notably faster".

Men's

On 16 March 2015, CUBC raced in two pieces along the Tideway against a

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

crew steered by Oxford's 2012 race cox Zoe De Toledo. Cambridge won the first race, from the Boat Race start to the top of

Chiswick Eyot Chiswick Eyot is a narrow, uninhabited ait (river island) of the Thames. It is a tree- and reed-covered rise on the Tideway by Chiswick, in London, England and is overlooked by Chiswick Mall and by some of the Barnes riverside on the far b ...

, by two and a half lengths, and the second, between the Eyot and Mortlake by four lengths. OUBC faced a crew from Molesey Boat Club in three races along the Tideway five days later. Despite Imperial being given a head start in two of the three races, Oxford won all three pieces relatively easily. The same day, Cambridge faced a Netherlands Eight in two races on the Thames. The Light Blues easily won the first race, but finished the second level against "experienced and accomplished opposition".

Crews

The official weigh-in for both women's and men's crews took place at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

on 19 March 2015, hosted by Clare Balding.

Women's

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 11 st 6 lb 2 oz (72.5 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Oxford saw four rowers with Boat Race experience return, including bow Maxie Sheske and Anastasia Chitty who was making her third appearances in the event. Cambridge's crew included three former Blues in Caroline Reid, Claire Watkins and Melissa Wilson (who was also making her third appearance in the event). Oxford's stroke, the American

Caryn Davies Caryn Davies (born April 14, 1982, in Ithaca, New York) is an American rower. She won gold medals as the stroke seat in women's eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

, was a three-time Olympic medallist, having taken silver in the women's coxed eights at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and gold at both the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Cambridge's cox Rosemary Ostfeld steered Goldie the previous year. Over the Easter weekend, Oxford switched their number five and seven, moving Nadine Graedel Iberg behind stroke. Cambridge swapped bow for stroke, switching Hannah Evans for Fanny Belais.

Men's

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 14 st 4 lb 11 oz (90.8 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Oxford saw four rowers with Boat Race experience return, including number seven Sam O'Connor and

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 ...

Louloudis who made their third consecutive appearances in the event. Louloudis was an Olympic bronze medallist, having stroked Great Britain to third place in the men's eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The New Zealand brothers Sam and James O'Connor were the first siblings to row in the event since the Winklevoss twins ( Cameron and

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

) represented Oxford in the 2010 race. Cambridge's crew contained five Blues who participated in the 2014 race, including their cox Ian Middleton. During "Tideway week", James Mountain replaced James O'Connor, the latter suffering from illness. On O'Connor's return to the boat, he was switched with Thomas Swartz at number two. File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Main Race (02).jpg, Oxford crew File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Main Race (01).jpg, Cambridge crew

Races

Over 250,000 spectators lined the Thames to watch the three races. Around eighty people needed to be rescued as the river level rose from the high tide and the wake of the flotilla.

Reserves

The women's reserve race, the 41st since 1968, was contested between Oxford's Osiris and Cambridge's Blondie on 10 April 2015. Osiris won by 15 lengths in a time of 18 minutes 58 seconds, their fourth consecutive victory and thirteenth win in the past fifteen years. It took the overall record in the event to 21–20 in CUWBC's favour. File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Reserve Race (01).jpg, Oxford Women's Reserve Osiris boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Reserve Race (02).jpg, Cambridge Women's Reserve Blondie boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Reserve Race (04).jpg, Women's Reserve race from the Putney Embankment The men's reserve race was the 51st contest between Isis and Goldie, and started at 5:20 p.m. on 11 April 2015. The overall record in the event stood at 29–21 in Goldie's favour. The Light Blue reserves won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Isis. Goldie took an early lead, despite warnings from the umpire around Barn Elms, and Isis were behind by five seconds at Hammersmith Bridge. Coming round to St Paul's School, both crews came into a strong head wind and Isis rating 34 to Goldie's 36 began to close the gap. The crews were level by the Bandstand, but Isis had taken a half length lead by Barnes Bridge, and they pulled away again to win by three lengths. This was the fifth consecutive victory for Isis, taking the overall event to 29–22 in Cambridge's favour. File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Reserve Race (01).jpg, Oxford Men's Reserve Isis crew File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Reserve Race (02).jpg, Cambridge Men's Reserve Goldie crew File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Reserve Race (04).jpg, Oxford Men's Reserve Isis boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Reserve Race (05).jpg, Cambridge Men's Reserve Goldie boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Reserve Race (06).jpg, Men's Reserve race from the Putney Embankment

Main races

Women's

The women's race was the 70th contest between OUWBC and CUWBC, and started at 4:50 p.m. on 11 April 2015. The overall record in the event before the race stood at 41–28 in Cambridge's favour, but Oxford were considered favourites to win. Prior to the race, The Boat Race Company Limited announced that the two boats had been named to honour this auspicious occasion. Cambridge elected to name their boat ''Project Ely'' while Oxford had opted for ''Catalyst''. OUWBC won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to CUWBC. The conditions were sunny but very windy. OUWBC took an immediate lead and were five seconds ahead at the Mile Post. Despite out-rating their opponents, Cambridge failed to make any ground on Oxford, and were around three lengths down by St Paul's School. Approaching Barnes Bridge, Oxford's cox called for a push, and OUWBC passed below the central arch with a substantial lead. OUWBC won by a margin of six and a half lengths in a time of 19 minutes 45 seconds, taking the overall record to 41–29 in Cambridge's favour. File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Main Race (02).jpg, Oxford Women's Blues boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Main Race (03).jpg, Cambridge Women's Blues boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Main Race (01).jpg, Women's race from the Putney Embankment File:Boat Race 2015 - Women's Trophy (01) (cropped).jpg, Women's race winner's trophy

Men's

The men's race was the 161st contest between OUBC and CUBC, and was held at 5:50 p.m on 11 April 2015. Prior to the race, the overall record in the event stood at 81–78 in Cambridge's favour, with one dead heat. The Dark Blues went into the race as the "strongest favourites in the history of the race". Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford. Oxford made the better start and were quickly ahead, with a quarter-length lead after a minute. Cambridge drew back into contention and held a canvas lead after two minutes where both crews were warned by Rankov as they closed. Cambridge marginally out-rated the Dark Blues as Oxford took a slight lead and were one second ahead by the Mile Post. Rankov issued further warnings as the crews passed beside Harrods Furniture Depository, Oxford half a length ahead, but with the Light Blues holding the advantage of the bend in the river as they approached Hammersmith Bridge. File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Main Race (03).jpg, Oxford Men's Blues boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Main Race (04).jpg, Cambridge Men's Blues boat File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Main Race (05).jpg, Men's race from the Putney Embankment File:Boat Race 2015 - Men's Trophy (02).jpg, Men's race winner's trophy Cambridge failed to make the best of the bend, and Oxford went clear after a push, taking an additional half a length and crossed in front of the Light Blues nine minutes into the race. The Dark Blues were over a length clear by the end of Chiswick Eyot and continued to pull away, holding a seven-second lead by Chiswick Steps. Passing through Barnes Bridge, Oxford were around five lengths ahead. Oxford passed the finishing post six and a half lengths ahead in a winning time of 17 minutes 34 seconds. It was the Dark Blues' third consecutive victory and took the overall record in the event to 81–79 in Cambridge's favour.

Reaction

The trophies were presented to the winning crews by the five-time Olympic gold medallist

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

. OUWBC's winning president Chitty said "It's a really special moment, something I've been working towards for three years" while her counterpart Reid accepted that Cambridge "didn't get off to

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

best start and Oxford did" and that the conditions were "pretty horrendous around the halfway mark with the wind against the tide and some pretty high waves". Oxford's stroke Davies said: "I'm so glad we can be role models to all the young women out there." Cambridge's coach Baker noted "We’ve got a young crew that has come a long way and they raced their best ... We’ve improved quite a lot, but it just wasn’t good enough". The Cambridge's men's president Leichter was generous in defeat: "It was 100% fair. It was very painful but they took us round the outside of Surrey and we couldn't respond" while four-time winner Louloudis was content: "We stuck to our plan and executed a really good race". Oxford's coach Bowden said of his eleven victories with the Dark Blues in the event, "they are all different and tough but we came together well". He went on to honour the former Oxford coach Dan Topolski who had died in February: "We definitely had Dan in our hearts throughout the campaign and we’re just so pleased to have won in style for him".

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 2015, The 2015 in English sport 2015 in rowing The Boat Race April 2015 sports events in the United Kingdom Women's Boat Race

Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

2015 sports events in London