(Reuters) – Cambridge women’s crew won the university boat race in record time for their fifth straight triumph while Oxford’s men ended their five-year wait for victory on Sunday as the event returned to the River Thames for the first time since 2019.
Crowds were back on the banks of the Thames as Cambridge sealed a comprehensive victory over Oxford by more than two lengths, clocking a time of 18 minutes and 22 seconds.
The dark blue crew of Oxford, who last won the men’s race in 2017, halted their rivals’ run of three straight wins and crossed the line before Chiswick Bridge in 16 minutes and 47 seconds.
The event returned to London after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It took place without spectators on the River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire last year because of coronavirus restrictions.
This year’s results were in stark contrast to those of the 2021 event when Cambridge scored a double win on home waters in a tenacious battle against Oxford, with both the men’s and women’s races decided by a length or less.
Cambridge lead the rivalry 46-30 in the women’s event, while Oxford men’s crew narrowed the gap to Cambridge’s 85 wins with their 81st victory.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
