Boat Race 2024 LIVE: Latest build-up to Oxford vs Cambridge races

30 Mar 2024

Last year, Cambridge claimed victory in every race.

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The top rowers from Oxford and Cambridge will participate in the Boat Race on Saturday afternoon in the Thames River in 2024.

Boat Race 2024 - Figure 1 — Photo The Independent

The competition was introduced in 1829 and has taken place every year since 1856. The previous year, Cambridge's Light Blues emerged victorious in both the men's and women's contests.

The race begins from Putney and the boats navigate towards Mortlake, which is at a distance of 4.2 miles (6.8km). On 13th March, the crew members were declared and since then, they have been getting ready for the competition for several months.

The period leading up to the race has been mainly focused on the condition of the water in the Thames. This has caused worry among people, especially because of the customary practice of throwing the victorious coxswain into the river during celebration.

Keep track of everything happening on the Thames through the blog provided and stay informed of the most recent odds and advice available.

Cambridge Aims To Defy Odds In Boat Race 2024

Cambridge men's team has a significant Boat Race experience advantage over Oxford, with five veterans from the previous year compared to Oxford's one. Nevertheless, the Oxford team has two noteworthy members: Harry Glenister, who was on the British senior team from 2018-23, is in the two seat, and Lenny Jenkins, who won the Belgrade World Cup in 2022, is in the seven seat.

In addition to having a crew that is slightly heavier, Oxford has shown better performance during the preparation period. In the later part of February, they showed their dominance by winning a very rough race against Leander Club. The race was paused by umpire Sir Matthew Pinsent when Oxford four James Doran lost his oar during a collision between the two boats.

After the restart, Leander took the lead by three-quarters of a length, but unfortunately, the boats collided again. This time it was Oxford's fault, yet they still managed to cross the finish line before Leander. However, before the race ended, Pinsent had already made the decision to disqualify Leander due to the first collision. Overall, the race was not very satisfying.

Earlier this month, there was a two-piece race between Cambridge and Leander. The first part of the race was close, but Leander managed to outperform Cambridge by one and a half lengths at the end. It's interesting to note that Cambridge has made several changes to their rowing positions before the upcoming important event on Saturday, with only Matt Edge in stroke seat, Luca Ferraro in seven seat, and Thomas Marsh in three seat remaining the same. On the other hand, Oxford has decided to keep the same team who rowed against Leander.

Jack Rathborn on March 30th, 2024 at noon wrote the following blog post.

Oxford Women Poised To Break Boat Race Drought In 2024

One of the biggest outcomes observed in the early Boat Race matches was when Oxford's female rowing team claimed victory against Oxford Brookes. This university is known for its excellent rowing program within the United Kingdom. This triumph took place in late January and the race was divided into three sections, each lasting around five minutes. The event was held on the Championship Course.

Prior to the race, Martin Cross, an Olympic champion and commentator, suggested that if Oxford managed to stay within one length of Brookes, it would be considered a satisfactory outcome in the first two sections. However, Oxford actually fell short by three-quarters of a length in both sections. The second section was particularly impressive since Brookes had an advantage on the longer south curve of the course known as the Surrey bend.

Oxford won the race in the end thanks to their bend advantage, which they used to their advantage, and ended up winning by a noticeable one-and-a-half lengths. Fans were impressed by Annie Sharp, a six-foot-four European U23 bronze medallist who competed in the race. The team has made some changes since then and now has six Boat Race veterans, including cox Joe Gellett, which is hopefully a good sign for them to end their losing streak of six consecutive defeats.

Jack Rathborn wrote a post on March 30, 2024 at 11:50am.

2024 Boat Race: Oxford Vs Cambridge Schedule

At 12:40, the coin toss for the Women's Boat Race will take place on the Putney Embankment.

At 1:00 PM, the last road closures have been implemented.

At 1:15 PM, the coin toss for the Men's Boat Race will take place at the Putney Embankment.

The BBC transmission commences at 2:00 PM.

At 14:46, the 78th Women's Boat Race took place.

At 3:01 PM, there will be a competition between Osiris and Blondie.

At 3:16 pm, there is a boat race between Isis and Goldie.

At quarter to four in the afternoon, the 169th Men's Boat Race took place.

At 4:15 pm, the trophy presentation for the winning crew in the women's division will take place in Mortlake.

At 4:20 pm there will be a ceremony to present the winning crew trophy for the men's race in Mortlake.

The BBC program concludes at 4:30 pm.

At 5:00 PM, the Hammersmith Bridge unlocks itself to people who travel on bicycles or by foot.

The fan areas in Fulham and Hammersmith will cease operation at 6:00 pm.

2024 Boat Race: Oxford Vs Cambridge - Preview, Predictions, Odds

On Saturday afternoon, the Boat Race 2024 will be held on the River Thames. Cambridge is hoping to achieve the same victory as last year by winning both the men's and women's races. You can catch all the action starting at 2:46pm on BBC One.

The inaugural face-off between Oxford's "Dark Blues" and Cambridge's "Light Blues" took place in 1829 and has since been held every year since 1856. The race involves the side-by-side eights on the river, with the journey covering 4.2 miles (6.8 km) from Putney to Mortlake on the Championship Course, heading west. As of 2015, the women's race has been included in the same event, taking place on the same day and over the same challenging course.

The crews were announced on March 13th after much training and preparation for several months. In December, there were trial races within the university. Oxford performed better than others as the weather conditions were favorable. After that, in the New Year, they had races against other universities and rowing clubs.

Jack Rathborn wrote a blog on March 30th, 2024 at 11:16.

Oxford Vs Cambridge Boat Race 2024: Form Analysis

Based on their recent performances, it appears that Cambridge is expected to win in both the women's and men's races today.

The Women's race has been dominated by Cambridge for six consecutive years, after ending Oxford's four-year winning streak in 2017.

In the past few years, the Cambridge male rowers have narrowed the gap between them and the Oxford male rowers. However, Cambridge still has a notable advantage, having won five out of the last seven races since 2016.

Possible rewrite: On March 30, 2024, at 11:05 AM, Jack Rathborn posted an article on a blog. The content may vary depending on the specific text, but in general, it could be paraphrased like this: In this blog post, Jack Rathborn shared his thoughts on a particular topic. He expressed his ideas in his own way, using diverse vocabulary and style. The text might provide insights, opinions, analysis, research, or a blend of those aspects. The purpose of the blog could be to inform, entertain, persuade, or educate its readers, depending on the author's intention and audience. However, as an AI language model, I cannot access the content of the original blog or infer its precise tone or content. Thus, this rewrite aims to retain the main ideas of the sentence while using different expressions and structures.

Oxford Vs Cambridge: The 2024 Boat Race

Here's a rephrased version of the blog section: At 10:53 on March 30th, 2024, Jack Rathborn shared his thoughts through his blog.

"Twin Sisters Divided In 2024 Boat Race"

Gemma and Catherine King, who are identical twins, were set to compete against each other for the first time in Saturday's University Boat Race. Even though this isn't happening anymore, their family will still have conflicting feelings throughout the weekend.

Due to her recent back injury, Catherine won't be able to participate in the elite women's race for Oxford, where she was supposed to compete against Gemma on the Cambridge side. However, she will still represent her new university in the reserve race.

This implies a difficult period for the guardians, Liz and Mike.

"It has certainly been a shift for them because they've always known which team to cheer on, resulting in an accumulation of Cambridge light blue supporters' gear over time. As I shifted to Oxford, I've been doing my utmost to alter that and provide them with some Oxford supporter's merchandise," Catherine chuckled during a conference call with Reuters, involving three individuals.

She mentioned that they have some Oxford-Cambridge hats and scarves which are a mix of both teams. It's quite amusing. They will show their support for both teams on the day of the boat race. They have always been supportive of both of us in every aspect.

The Kings, who hail from Bagshot in Surrey and are aged 24, engaged in various athletic pursuits during their childhood. When they were aged 12, they were exposed to rowing and subsequently went to Cambridge where they competed in the same boat.

"I feel like there is constant competition present in every aspect of our lives," Gemma stated. She is currently in the process of finishing up her PhD in stem cell biology at Cambridge.

"It's effortless to make comparisons between us as we share the same genetic makeup. Overall, this has had a positive impact on our lives as we motivate each other to reach our full potential."

Last year, Catherine relocated to Oxford which was the first occasion the twins lived separately.

Catherine, a student working on a doctorate degree in cardiovascular research, expressed that she and her acquaintance continue to communicate frequently and she believes they will maintain a strong bond.

In 1829, the initial men's Boat Race occurred through rowing on the Thames at Henley. Later on, in 1927, the first women's race was held.

Since the 1960s, the women's competition has become a longstanding part of the event. In 2015, they decided to row both races on the same day, using the identical 4.5-mile track from Putney to Mortlake.

According to Gemma, engaging in the Boat Race is a remarkably unique encounter. It's considered one of the most notable competitions in British athletics and is esteemed for its long-standing heritage.

The competition is quite unusual as there are only winners and losers, and no real concept of coming in second place.

Both of us are highly motivated to emerge victorious in the Boat Race. Nonetheless, I firmly believe that this competition encompasses more than just the outcome of winning or losing. Ultimately, our primary goal is for our respective teams to deliver their utmost performance during the race.

Jack Rathborn posted a blog on March 30th, 2024 at 10:48.

Boat Race Vs. Rowing For Team GB: A Comparison

When PA interviewed Harry Glenister from Oxford, he was questioned about the main distinctions between the Boat Race and his past experience as part of Great Britain's group. As an MBA pupil, he aptly responded by highlighting the need to prioritize his studies, given that he has a demanding schedule of six hours of classes each day, in addition to engaging in two separate rowing sessions daily. While this is not quite comparable to the intense regime of the GB rowing team, it is still noteworthy for its considerable demands.

During my time competing for Great Britain, I participated in a race spanning over 2 kilometers. However, the particular race I'll be discussing today was over seven kilometers in length. This longer distance required a distinct approach to racing where the primary focus was on being the first to take the lead. The person who manages to get ahead first has a higher chance of winning the race.

To achieve success in rowing, one must start off with a strong and intense force. The strategy is to push oneself to the limit right from the beginning, hold on to that momentum, and aim to weaken the opposing team. The question is, which individual in the opposing team will be the first to give in under this pressure?

The individual who fails will be defeated, whilst the team that causes the opponent's downfall will achieve triumph. This type of competition is highly thrilling and I personally find immense pleasure participating in it.

I have participated in races of great significance and faced crucial moments where I had to manage stress effectively. As a result, I have become accustomed to handling such situations. I am determined to pass on my self-assurance to the team members, with the ultimate goal of achieving success at critical moments.

Oxford Aims To End Cambridge's Boat Race Reign In 2024

Harry Glenister is optimistic that Oxford will overcome their recent losing streak at the Boat Race and achieve a long-awaited victory. This would be an amazing accomplishment for the experienced Great Britain athlete, who plans to retire from rowing after the event.

This individual, who is currently 28 years of age, was a part of the GB senior rowing crew for a span of five years. Though the person was on the brink of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, they were unable to do so and unfortunately had to take a break during the entirety of the 2023 season due to experiencing back problems.

In the past five years, Cambridge has only lost the men's race one time. They achieved a win last year by 1 1/3 lengths due to a bold decision made by their coxswain. However, although Glenister is new to the Boat Race, he believes that Oxford has what it takes to win the challenging men's showdown for the 169th time.

Glenister expressed to the PA news agency that it would be a significant achievement to win this race as it would mark the end of his career on a positive note. Though not making it to Tokyo was a letdown, finishing with a victory would be just as meaningful.

Although the Olympics hold great importance, this particular race is undeniably one of the largest in the world. Thus, securing a victory in it would bring me immense joy and satisfaction.

This event is absolutely incredible. The atmosphere is filled with amazing vibes. All the rowers aspire to participate in this event.

This year, our team is incredibly strong with some top-notch players. We are thrilled to see what we have in store and change the outcome by challenging Cambridge's ongoing supremacy.