The Boat Race 2000

The 146th Boat Race took place on 25 March 2000. Oxford won the race by three lengths, breaking a seven-year spell of Cambridge dominance. The result was a "shock triumph".^[2] The race also featured the joint-tallest ever competitor, and the youngest ever winner in the "modern" race. In the reserve race, Isis beat Goldie by five lengths, and Oxford triumphed in the women's race, emerging with victory in the men's and women's races for the year.

Background

The Boat Race is an annual competition between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. First held in 1829, the competition is a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) race along the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide.^[3] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1999 race by three-and-a-half lengths.^[4] Cambridge had won the last seven races (between 1993 and 1999); and led overall with 76 victories to Oxford's 68^[1] (excluding the "dead heat to Oxford by five feet" of 1877).^[5] The race was sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management.^[6]

The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up 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.^[7] 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.^[4]

Crews

The Oxford crew (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")^[8] had a heavier average weight of 13 stone 10 pounds (87 kg) per crew member,^[9] making them almost 11 pounds (5.0 kg) heavier per man;^[6] and were considered the underdogs before the race.^[2] The Cambridge crew (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues")^[8] had a taller crew,^[9] and had the joint-tallest ever competitor, the 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) Joshua West.^[10] The Oxford crew had an average age of 21 while Cambridge's crew averaged 23. The Oxford crew featured six Britons, two Americans, and a Norwegian; whilst the Cambridge crew consisted of six Britons, an American, a New Zealander, and a South African.^[1]

The crews for the race were as follows:^[1]

Seat	Oxford			Cambridge
	Name	Nationality	Age	Name	Nationality	Age
Bow	A.G.G. Dunn	British	19	R.P. Cantwell	British	20
2	N.J. Robinson	British	21	J.J. O'Loghlen	New Zealander	26
3	B.J. Burch	British	20	R.A. Ehlers	South African	25
4	M.J. Smith	British	18	H.N.F. Martin	British	27
5	D.R. Snow	British	21	A.J. West	American	22
6	T.H. Ayer	American	24	T.A. Stallard	British	21
7	E.B. Lilledahl	Norwegian	25	D.J. Tweddie	British	22
Stroke	A. Reid	American	23	R.P. Stokes	British	21
Cox	K. McLaren	British	19	G.J. Glassman	British	22

Race description

Cambridge won the coin toss and chose to start from the southern side, the Surrey side, of the River Thames, based on the opinion that taking a lead early in the race would give them an advantage.^[6] However, the theory failed as Oxford stayed with Cambridge, and though Cambridge had a large push which gave them a slender lead after two minutes, Oxford were leading at the First Mile post, passing in 3 minutes 41 seconds, Cambridge a second behind.^[6]

The race was close, and "the lead switched back and forth between the two teams".^[1] Cambridge pressed and rewon their lead, and were a quarter of a length ahead after a favourable bend.^[6] Though level at Chiswick Steps, Oxford pushed ahead, gaining a five-second lead by Barnes Bridge, and eight at the finish.

Oxford finished with a time of 18 minutes, 4 seconds, Cambridge finished 8 seconds behind.^[6] It was Oxford's first victory in seven years and brought the overall result to 76–69 in Cambridge's favour.^[1] The victory gave the Oxford number four, Matthew Smith, the honour of being the youngest ever "modern" winner at 18 years, 8 months 11 days.^[10]

In the reserve race, Oxford's Isis beat Cambridge's Goldie by five lengths.^[6] Earlier, Oxford won the 55th women's race by two-and-a-quarter lengths, in a time of 6 minutes 18 seconds,^[4] their first victory in nine years.^[6] Oxford also won the women's lightweight, but Cambridge won the women's reserves, men's lightweight, and men's lightweight reserves.^[6]

Reaction

Oxford University Boat Club President and number four Nick Robinson said the crew had kept going and won "an incredible race",^[1] but was a "shock triumph".^[2]

References

External links

• Official website

The Boat Race
	Oxford University Boat Club (crews) Oxford University Women's Boat Club Cambridge University Boat Club (crews) Cambridge University Women's Boat Club
	The Championship Course Results Blue Boat Goldie Stones
	Henley Boat Races OU Lightweight Rowing Club OU Women's Lightweight Rowing Club CU Lightweight Rowing Club CU Women's Lightweights
	The Boat Race 1829 1836 1839 1840 1841 1842 1845 1846 1849 1849 1852 1854 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
	Women's Boat Race 1927 1929 1930 1934 1935 1936 1939 1941 1973 1974 1975 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1993 1994 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
	The Boat Races 2015 2016 2017
Category Commons