Boat Race
The Boat Race is on the annual Thames in London discharged rowing race between the two famous English universities Oxford and Cambridge . It is held annually in March or April by the two strongest men and women eights of the universities. There are also races for the reserve teams.
The idea for this race, which was held for the first time on June 10, 1829, came from the two friends Charles Merivale ( Cambridge ) and Charles Wordsworth ( Oxford ), nephew of William Wordsworth and later Bishop of St Andrews . The first race on the track, which is still used today, took place in 1845. After 165 events (as of 2020), Cambridge has achieved 84 victories, whereas Oxford has 80. The race in 1877 was a draw. Before the women's eighth race was included in the program in 2015, the Women's Boat Race , which has been held since 1927, took place in Henley-on-Thames. After 74 races (as of 2020), Cambridge leads here with 44 wins ahead of Oxford with 30 wins.
The Oxford team is often referred to as "dark blues", while the Cambridge team is known analogously as "light blues" ("the light blues"). These colors are also reflected in the rowing jerseys of both teams.
Cambridge light blue rudder blade
Dark blue oar blade from Oxford
history
Beginnings
The idea for the competition came from the two friends Charles Wordsworth (from Christ Church College in Oxford) and Charles Merivale (from St. John's College in Cambridge) when they met on vacation in Cambridge. At a meeting of the Cambridge University Boat Club on February 10, 1829, the decision was made to challenge Oxford to a race. The first race took place on June 10, 1829 on the Thames near Henley-on-Thames . The Oxford team won the race with ease. The route was 3.62 km long and the boats had neither booms nor roller seats at that time . The second race lasted until 1836. The race has only been held annually since 1856, with exceptions. Outrigger boats have been in use since the eighth race in 1846 and roller seats since the 30th race in 1873.
Tie 1877
The Boat Race 1877 is counted as a draw because the judge John Phelps was unable to say who was ahead without marking the finish line. Phelps was on a boat marking the target. The Cambridge and Oxford boats were roughly tied at target level, with both boats alternating briefly in the lead, depending on which section of the oar stroke they were in. Without an exact mark, Phelps had no way of knowing who won. However, the claim that Phelps slept drunk under a tree is not true. It probably originated from the belief that the Oxford team had won and parts of the press reported that Oxford won. They were not at the finish line, but on steamers followed by two rowing boats. For the following year, posts were then placed to mark the target.
First women's competition
In 1927 a competition between women's teams from the universities took place for the first time. It was held on the Isis section of the Thames near Oxford. Both teams were not allowed to row at the same time and were also judged by style. According to The Times newspaper, there was a large and hostile crowd of men on the bank who opposed woman rowing. Oxford won the first competition. With the fifth edition in 1935, the competition became a real race. It has been held annually since 1964. In the public perception, however, it played no role.
Mutinies
In 1959 and 1987 there were mutinies among the Oxford team. 1959 tried the rowers beaten in the previous year their boat club president Ronnie Howard and trainer "Jumbo" Edwards because of their training methods and to replace them with a trainer from Yale University . But since Cambridge announced that it would only row against a team of the club president and Howard received further support from the club, the uprising was over after a short time. The 1987 mutiny followed after Oxford lost for the first time after ten consecutive victories. Five American rowers refused to row for coach Dan Topolski and President Donald Macdonald because of disagreements over the choice of athletes and Topolski's training methods. In the race, Oxford then competed with several rowers from the reserve team and won by six boat lengths. What exactly happened, however, is not known because many of the people involved remained silent about it and Topolski's reports are described as partial.
Interruption in 2012
In 2012 the race had to be interrupted about halfway through the track because a man had deliberately swam between the boats. The 35-year-old Australian wanted to demonstrate against the erosion of civil liberties and growing elitism in British society. Both boats were at the same height at this point. The float was only slightly from the leaves misses the Oxford team. After a half-hour break, the race continued at the same point. Shortly after the restart, the oar of the German Oxford rower Hanno Wienhausen broke after the boat got too close to the other. As a result, Cambridge won by several lengths. A subsequent protest against the result was refused because the referee advised Oxford to steer away from the other boat. After crossing the finish line, a member of the Oxford team collapsed and needed medical attention. The award ceremony was canceled.
route
The route is located in southwest London and runs from Putney upstream to Mortlake ; it is 4 miles and 374 yards (6779 m) long. The course is known as The Championship Course . The start and finish points are marked by the University Boat Race Stones on the right bank of the river. The start is 129 m upriver from Putney Bridge and the finish is 112 m downstream from Chiswick Bridge . A well-known landmark is Chiswick Eyot . Rowing has been carried out on this section since the race in 1845. In 1846, 1856 and 1863 rowing was carried out in the opposite direction. The first race took place on the Thames at Henley-on-Thames . The races from 1836 to 1842 took place between Westminster and Putney.
In this section the Thames is still influenced by the tides of the North Sea. The start takes place during the high tide so that the boats go with the current; accordingly an attempt is made to drive in the current line. Around 80% of the teams leading at Hammersmith Bridge win the race. Before the race, a coin toss decides which side the teams will start on. The team that wins the coin toss can choose either the Middlesex or Surrey side.
More incidents in the course
- 1849: Two races took place in one year. Oxford challenged Cambridge to row again because they felt they were not fit enough. Cambridge took up the challenge somewhat surprisingly and lost the second race in December.
- 1859: The Cambridge boat sinks
- 1873: Cambridge wins in a new record time and breaks the 20-minute mark
- 1900: Cambridge wins with 20 lengths
- 1912: Both boats sink and the race has to be repeated
- 1925: The Oxford boat sinks
- 1930: Cambridge takes the lead in the number of races it has won that it has not surrendered to date (as of 2020)
- 1946: The first race after the Second World War took place on March 30, 1946.
- 1948: Cambridge is able to undercut the previously driven record time of 18'03 "by 58 seconds to 17'05". This record time was not broken again until 1976, after 28 years
- 1951: The Oxford boat sinks and the race is repeated
- 1954: Oxford wins the 100th race
- 1978: The Cambridge boat sinks
- 1981: Oxford wins with Sue Brown - the first female participant in the race - at the wheel
- 1998: Cambridge wins in a new record time with the German hit duo Marc Weber and Stefan Forster
- 2003 : Oxford wins with a lead of only 30 cm, which is the closest finish ever (as of 2020)
- 2004: At the 150th anniversary, the Light Blues from Cambridge win by 15 seconds
- 2005: Oxford wins against the Cambridge boat, which is also occupied by four German rowers, including Sebastian Schulte ( Germany eighth ), Bernd Heidicker (World Champion 2002) and Matthias Kleinz ( Junior World Champion 1994)
- 2006: Oxford wins against the Cambridge boat, which also has three German rowers ( Sebastian Thormann , Sebastian Schulte, Thorsten Engelmann )
- 2007: Cambridge wins instantly with the German duo (Thorsten Engelmann, Sebastian Schulte)
- 2008: Oxford wins with Michael Wherley, the oldest participant in history at 36 years old. The German Jan Herzog also rowed in the boat, which achieved the slowest victory time since 1947 under adverse weather conditions .
- 2016: With Clemens Auersperg (Cambridge), an Austrian sits in the winning boat for the first time .
- 2019: James Cracknell , philosophy student and Olympic gold medalist in 2000 and 2004, competed for victorious Cambridge at the age of 47 as the oldest participant in the history of the race.
- 2020: The race was canceled almost two weeks before the date due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Teams
All rowers are students of one of the two universities for which they are competing. Rowers are selected and trained by four clubs: Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC), Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC), Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) and Oxford University Women's Boat Club (OUWBC). Training will start in September. The teams are usually announced three to four weeks before the race. The complete team consists of the main team, reserve team and a reserve pair. At that time, however, athletes may still be exchanged within the teams. The reserve teams have their own names. For men they are Isis (Oxford) and Goldie (Cambridge) and for women Osiris (Oxford) and Blondie (Cambridge).
Current status
Men
- 165 races
- 84 wins for Cambridge
- 80 wins for Oxford
- 1 draw (dead race 1877)
- Longest winning streak: Cambridge 13 × (1924–1936), Oxford with coach Daniel Topolski 10 × (1976–1985)
- Current course record: Cambridge with 16'19 ″ (1998)
Women
- 74 races
- 44 wins for Cambridge
- 30 wins for Oxford
- Longest winning streak: Cambridge 13 × (1952–1978), Oxford 6 × (1934–1941)
- Current course record: Cambridge with 18'33 "(2017)
Status: 2020
Results
The Men's Boat Race
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The Women's Boat Race
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See also
- The Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race (British short film from 1895)
Web links
- Official website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b theboatraces.org Accessed May 4, 2020
- ↑ theboatrace.org, accessed May 4, 2020
- ^ Evi Simeoni: Boat race on the Thames in London. In: www.faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 27, 2016, accessed on June 6, 2017 .
- ↑ Tim Koch: Lies, Damned Lies and the 1877 Boat Race. In: heartheboatsing.com. April 17, 2014, accessed May 4, 2020 .
- ^ Controversies: Rebels at Oxford. (No longer available online.) In: theboatraces.org. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016 ; accessed on June 24, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Tom Peck: No regrets, says Trenton Oldfield, man who ruined the boat race - but don't worry, he won't be back. In: independent.co.uk. March 29, 2013, accessed June 26, 2020 .
- ↑ Robausch, Michael: Exciting “Boat Race” to Cambridge ( memento of April 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) at derstandard.at, April 7, 2012 (accessed on April 9, 2012).
- ^ Andy Bull: Oxford bow Alex Woods recovering in hospital after Boat Race collapse. In: theguardian.com. April 7, 2012, accessed June 26, 2020 .
- ↑ a b THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE. In: theboatrace.org. Retrieved June 24, 2020 .
- ↑ 1830-1855 ( Memento of April 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) , www.theboatrace.org (English)
- ↑ THE BOAT RACE BASICS. In: theboatrace.org. Accessed July 30, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Oxford win historic second race of 1849 ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) , www.theboatrace.org (English)
- ↑ Sports and games . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna March 30, 1946, p. 4, column 2, third block ( column 2, third block; html = 1arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ http://m.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/boat-race-cambridge-bezwingt-oxford-im-ruder-klassiker-a-1261730.html
- ↑ Boat Race canceled because of coronavirus. BBC, March 16, 2020, accessed March 16, 2020 .
- ↑ OXFORD & CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOAT CLUBS. In: theboatrace.org. Retrieved July 28, 2020 (English).
- ↑ A dead heat! ( Memento of May 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) , www.theboatrace.org (English; Internet archive)