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On This Day: Oxford win 100th Boat Race

The Dark Blues had to battle high winds and rough water to beat Cambridge’s Light Blues, who were heavily favoured after winning 24 of the previous 30 encounters

On This Day: Oxford win 100th Boat Race

APRIL 3, 1954: Oxford won the 100th Boat Race on this day in 1954 after beating their university rivals by two and a half lengths on the River Thames.

The Dark Blues had to battle high winds and rough water to beat Cambridge’s Light Blues, who were heavily favoured after winning 24 of the previous 30 encounters.

Their eight-man crew completed the 4.2-mile course between Putney and Mortlake in west London in a time of 20 minutes and 23 seconds.

A British Pathé newsreel showed the two teams being cheered off by a crowd that included the former Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

Oxford nudged slightly ahead after beginning the race with 38 strokes per minute against Cambridge’s 36.

They were a quarter of a length in front by the time they reached Hammersmith Bridge.

But by Barnes Bridge, the Light Blues were four and a half lengths behind as thousands cheered them.

Cambridge managed to close the gap a fraction, but still finished well behind Oxford as they neared the finish at Chiswick Bridge.

The victory was especially gratifying for Oxford as they had won the first ever boat race in 1829.

It was originally held at Henley, then moved to a route between Westminster Bridge and Putney before being staged at its current route in 1836.

The event, which pits Britain’s two oldest universities against each other, has only been an annual one since 1856, although no races took place during World War II.


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By 2013, Cambridge, which was established in 1209, had won 81 and Oxford, which was founded in 1096, has been victorious 77 times.

There has only been one dead heat, in 1877, when both teams completed the race in exactly 24 minutes and eight seconds.

The course record of 16 minutes and 19 seconds was set by Cambridge in 1998.

Aside from the races, which are watched on TV by about 17million in Britain and more than 200,000 people on the riverbanks, there has been plenty of other drama.

Oxford University Boat Club have suffered two mutinies – in 1959 and 1987 - each due to disagreements over who should be president.

But on each occasion, Oxford eventually won the race. This was especially impressive in 1989 when an American-led strike meant they had to rely on their reserve team.

Both teams have also sank on numerous occasions, most recently in 1984 after the Cambridge boat collided with a barge.

The most unusual disruption to any race occurred in 2012 when Australian Trenton Oldfield swam up to the boats in a protest over cuts and the culture of elitism.