Published: 06/04/2014
The 2014 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race took place at 5.55pm on Sunday 6th April and Oxford powered to victory for another year in succession.
The Boat Race was broadcast live on BBC1 and on a number of other channels around the world. Thousands of people turned out and lined the sides of the river, in the wind and rain, to watch the 18 minute race.
10 Facts about the Boat Race
1. The first race took place on 10th June 1829 at Henley on Thames, Oxford won easily.
2. There were only 12 races between 1829-1854 but since 1856 they have been held annually only interrupted during the war years.
3. The course is 4 miles 374 yards (6.8Km) between Putney and Mortlake. The first race on this course was held in 1845 when Cambridge won in a time of 23mins 30sec.
4. Official times are taken at fixed points every year. These are: The Mile Post, Hammersmith Bridge, Chiswick Steps, Barnes Bridge and The Finish.
5. The current Course record is 16mins 19sec, set by Cambridge in 1998.
6. In 1981 Sue Brown (Oxford cox’) became the first woman to participate in the Boat Race. 1989 was the first year both Blue Boats were coxed by women.
7. Every member of The Boat Race crews trains for approximately two hours for every stroke in The Race, they train a period of 7 months for 3 hours per day, 6 days a week.
8. It takes about 600 strokes to complete the course.
9. The heaviest ever crew was the 2009 Oxford Crew with an average of 15 st 9 lb 13 oz or 99.7 kg, excluding the cox.
10. The lightest ever coxes were Francis Archer (Cambridge 1862) and Hart Massey (Oxford 1939) - both weighed in at 5 stone 2 lbs (32.66 kilos). There is now a 55kg weight limit for coxes in the Boat Race.