The 67th

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 ...

took place on 26 March 2012. The race 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 ...

and took place at

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

. In a race umpired by multiple Olympic gold medallist

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...

, Cambridge won by one quarter of a length in a time of 6 minutes 38 seconds, their first win since the 2007 race. The victory took the overall record in the event to 41–26 in Cambridge's favour.

Background

The

is a side-by-side rowing competition between

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) and 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) that has taken place since

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

. It was conducted as part of the

, on the traditional straight course at

. Oxford went into the race as champions, having won the 2011 race by one quarter of a length, and led 40–26 overall. The race was sponsored by Newton Investment Management, a subsidiary of

The Bank of New York 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 Financ ...

, for the second successive year. Cambridge's head coach was Martyn Rooney. The umpire for the race was

, gold medallist in the men's coxless pairs at the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

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and

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), ...

Crews

Trials for the crews were held in December 2011. Cambridge's trial boats raced along the Adelaide Straight in Ely and were named ''Big Fish'', ''Little Fish'' and ''Cardboard Box''. Cambridge saw four rowers (Isabel Boanas-Evans, Anna Railton, Cath Wheeler and Fay Sandford) along with

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 ** ...

Kate Richards return to the crew, all of whom had participated in the 2011 race.

Race

In conditions described as "perfect", Cambridge took an early lead, out-rating Oxford. Pinsent warned OUWBC who were forced to steer away from the CUWBC boat, allowing them to pull further away to lead by one and a half lengths, despite a series of pushes from Oxford. With to go, Cambridge's number two Caroline Reid " caught a crab", bringing the Light Blue boat to a standstill and allowing Oxford to drastically reduce the deficit. Cambridge re-started and crept over the line just ahead. Cambridge won by one quarter of a length in a time of 6 minutes 38 seconds, the slowest winning time since the 2008 race. The margin of victory was the narrowest since CUWBC won by in the 2001 race. It was Cambridge's first win since the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

race, and took the overall record in the event to 41–26 in their favour.

References

External links

Official website
{{The Boat Race 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 ...

2012 in English sport March 2012 sports events in the United Kingdom

Boat race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

2012 sports events in London

Background

Crews

Race

See also

References

External links