Double Dark Blue Victory- Boat Race 2015 Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Jack Winstanley

Double Dark Blue Victory

In an historic day of rowing, Oxford came away victorious, winning every race convincingly.

On Friday in the women’s reserves race, Oxford’s Osiris triumphed over Blondie by a winning margin of 15 lengths, cementing their position as the first victorious women’s crew on the Tideway. Their Blue boat didn’t disappoint either, living up to their position as heavy favourites and defeating the Light Blue Cambridge women by 19 seconds.

The Thames was turned Dark Blue by the men too, with a sixth victory in eight years for the Oxford crew. Their President Constantine Louloudis joins only fourteen other rowers who have won four boat races.
Disappointment for the Light Blue crews shouldn’t take away from the importance of the day, in which the Newton Women’s Boat Race took place on the Tideway alongside the BNY Mellon Boat Race for the first time in its history.

In 1927 the first women’s crews to take up the gauntlet rowed one after the other, and were judged purely on style and grace, with no speed element allowed as it was deemed unladylike. Even as recently as 1973 the women were booed from the bank by those who felt that rowing should remain the preserve of the men.

This disparity has finally been overturned, and Cam FM were honoured to be part of the first joint race on the Tideway on Saturday. Congratulations to Oxford, as well as every rower, reporter, and coach who has been part of this historic step forward in sports equality.