Olympic medallists join Oxford for The Boat Race
Share on Facebook |
Email this article 
by Richard Klein
The annual Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race is upon us, with crews now officially announced. The legendary race between the university boat clubs of Oxford and Cambridge is known to be the oldest rivalry in the sport of rowing. The match-up will take place on March 29 for the 155th time.
The Oxford light blues are fielding an entirely new boat from the winning line-up of 2008, including five 2008 Olympians, two of them Beijing medallists: seven-man George Bridgewater from New Zealand who won bronze in the men’s pair and two-man Colin Smith, a native to Great Britain, who won silver in the men’s eight.
On The Boat Race website, Oxford Coach Sean Bowden says: “I believe that we have one of the strongest Oxford crews in years.”
While Cambridge do not have the Olympians, they do have Boat Race experience with four rowers and the coxswain returning from the 2008 line-up. All nine members of the crew have raced at World Rowing events and two of them have medalled: stroke Silas Stafford, a graduate from Stanford University, USA, is an under-23 World Champion in the men’s eight, while six-man Hardy Cubasch, a multiple Australian national team member, won gold at the 2005 World Rowing Championships in the coxed pair.
On The Boat Race website Cambridge Coach Chris Nilsson says that he is focusing on building team cohesion: “I push them harder on occasions than they have been pushed before. We had to go there and they now know what they are capable of. We are up against a much stronger boat but I still believe we can win.”
The Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race brings in over 7 million television viewers and over 250,000 spectators to the banks of the river Thames. The Thames race course is 4.25 miles (approximately 6.8 km) and presents navigation challenges due to its current and turns. The two universities prepare year-round for this event which started in 1829. The current match-up is Cambridge 79 wins to Oxford 74 wins, and one dead heat in 1877.
To see the full list of crews, click here.
For more information go to www.theboatrace.org.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου