| 151st Boat Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 March 2005 (2005-03-27) | ||
| Winner | Oxford | ||
| Margin of victory | 2 lengths | ||
| Winning time | 16 minutes 41 seconds | ||
| Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 78–72 | ||
| Umpire | Boris Rankov[1] (Oxford) | ||
| Other races | |||
| Reserve winner | Goldie | ||
| Women's winner | Cambridge | ||
| |||
The151st Boat Race took place on 27 March 2005. Oxford won the race by two lengths in a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds. The race,umpired by the six-time Boat Race winnerBoris Rankov, featured seven Olympic rowers. It was the first time the event was broadcast in the United Kingdom onITV.
In the reserve raceGoldie beat Isis and Cambridge won theWomen's race.
The Boat Race is an annualrowing eight competition between theUniversity of Oxford and theUniversity of Cambridge. First held in 1829, the competition is a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) race alongThe Championship Course on theRiver Thames in southwest London.[2] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide.[3] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the2004 race by six lengths,[4] and led overall with 78 victories to Oxford's 71 (excluding the"dead heat" of 1877).[5] The race was sponsored byXchanging for the first time,[6] and it was the first year the event was televised in the United Kingdom byITV, following a £1.75 million pound five-year deal, therefore ending the 50-year relationship the event had with the BBC.[7]
The firstWomen's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of theHenley Boat Races, but as of the2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races.[8] The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat, has been held since 1965. It typically takes place on the Tideway course shortly before the main Boat Race between the universities' first crews.[4]
The Oxford crew (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") was the heaviest in Boat Race history,[9] with over a 21 pounds (9.5 kg) per crew member over the Cambridge crew (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[10] Both crews had an average age of 25. The Oxford crew included five Britons, three Americans, and one Canadian, while the Cambridge crew was made up of four Germans, three Britons, one American, and one Australian.[11][12]
Seven of the rowers had represented their countries at the Olympic Games.[9] In the Cambridge crew, Heidicker rowed for Germany at both theSydney andAthens games, Briton Tom James, German Sebastian Schulte and American Luke Walton also rowed in Athens.[12] Oxford's Olympians included BritonsAndy Triggs Hodge andRobin Bourne-Taylor, and CanadianBarney Williams, all of whom competed in Athens.[12] According to the BBC, the former Oxford coachDan Topolski rated both crews as good enough to make an Olympic final.[13]
| Seat | Oxford | Cambridge | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | College | Nationality | Age | Name | College | Nationality | Age | |
| Bow | Robin Bourne-Taylor | Christ Church | British | 23 | Luke Walton | St Edmunds | American | 25 |
| 2 | Barney Williams | Jesus | Canadian | 28 | Tom Edwards | Gonville and Caius | Australian | 27 |
| 3 | Peter Reed | British | Oriel | 23 | Henry Adams | St Edmund's | British | 24 |
| 4 | Joseph von Maltzahn | British | Kellogg | 26 | Steffen Buschbacher | St Catharine's | German | 27 |
| 5 | Chris Liwski | St Catherine's | American | 24 | Sebastian Schulte | Gonville and Caius | German | 26 |
| 6 | Mike Blomquist | St Peter's | American | 23 | Matthias Kleinz | Gonville and Caius | German | 28 |
| 7 | Jason Flickinger | Keble | American | 27 | Tom James | Trinity Hall | British | 21 |
| Stroke | Andy Triggs Hodge | St Catherine's | British | 25 | Bernd Heidicker | Hughes Hall | German | 26 |
| Cox | Acer Nethercott | University | British | 27 | Peter Rudge | Hughes Hall | British | 23 |
Cambridge won the coin toss and elected to start from the northern bank (the "Middlesex side") of the Thames.[9] At race time, conditions were cloudy and cool, with rain falling midway through.[14] The race umpire wasBoris Rankov, a six-time successful OxfordBlue.[1]
Cambridge made a poor start allowing Oxford to take the early lead, but warnings from umpire Rankov forced the Oxford coxAcer Nethercott to steer out of the racing line and relinquish the advantage. As they approachedHammersmith Bridge, Oxfordout-rated Cambridge and held a half-a-length lead.[14] Taking a clear-water advantage before reachingBarnes Bridge, Oxford passed the finishing post two lengths ahead, with a time of 16 minutes, 41 seconds.[9] It was their third victory in the previous four years and brought the overall result to 78–72 in Cambridge's favour.[4] At the finish, following tradition, the Oxford crew threw their cox, Nethercott, into the water in celebration.[15]
In the reserve race, Cambridge'sGoldie beat Oxford's Isis.[14] Earlier, Cambridge won the 60thWomen's Boat Race by2+1⁄3 lengths.[4]
Oxford's number two, Williams, had lost out on gold in the Athens Olympics by two inches, he said "I knew how much it was going to hurt to lose so half of me is just so glad we didn't lose".[16] The departing Cambridge coachRobin Williams said of his crew "They fought like tigers and should be proud of themselves".[16] Cambridge's stroke Heidicker admitted "It was a bad start ... we never really established our own rhythm. Maybe we weren't cool enough in that situation."[9]
