“,”elementId”:”c0eb9b01-b8b2-4810-a4ff-ccb2103c6023″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Cambridge: Katy Hempson, Gemma King, Carys Earl, Annie Wertheimer, Sophia Hahn, Claire Collins, Tash Morrice, Samantha Morton. Cox: Jack Nicholas.
“,”elementId”:”7ecbfeb3-26f8-4ae1-a59c-3fcb9d67c957″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The umpire is someone called Matthew Pinsent. What does he know?
“,”elementId”:”7a4ee787-ceaf-49ff-b6d1-50fd3177f424″},{“displayCredit”:true,”_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”role”:”inline”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”4000″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/6000.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”4000″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“height”:”1333″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“height”:”667″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“height”:”333″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“height”:”93″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/140.jpg”}]}, “elementId”: “82F1EB57-4121-4245-8C4D-8C6F3A2909EA”, “ImagesSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=76d2e9e542b269caa8f76468a53b8d2a”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b1ec3dfe84016c69acd313e1d0d8e4e4″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=83407ac9e4742008c0e5cc9ebd99771f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e6705fd4a0ba15b3cc8a96ac4fea804e”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bba28493c2521b350afda5adfc25d863″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4ade100e4dce579ba1cfa6c53bcc8791″,”width”:890}]}, {“Weighting”: “Thumbnail”, “srcset”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=297e1655786d0a07b1575a350f4e83f2″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=9c3592f068da96fcd342e22bdf45bd83″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=91b1ecfcd3a3bab9822f655a0e1c8896″,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=81159d4e67dd4ba557e4aede8a8d1990″,”width”:240}]}, {“Weighting”: “Support”, “srcset”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ef2c02bad01fba5759829537afbca0b8″,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=22d35614ebbb07487a96bd1e04f9822f”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=304542cc1d06821c9e9dfa69393aa2bd”,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c2146183ca12cbbe9f49886f99533703″,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=76d2e9e542b269caa8f76468a53b8d2a”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b1ec3dfe84016c69acd313e1d0d8e4e4″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=83407ac9e4742008c0e5cc9ebd99771f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e6705fd4a0ba15b3cc8a96ac4fea804e”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bba28493c2521b350afda5adfc25d863″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4ade100e4dce579ba1cfa6c53bcc8791″,”width”:890}]}, {“Weighting”: “showcase”, “srcset”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1f90ec3fcd82204edc3ddf2177a0d1a7″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=828b7ceefe4f411a4052a1ace6d61da5″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3ac0487ad8f2ce29f7df315c688f65a9″,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=446bd0db25604e33a92a409e2244c48e”,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=76d2e9e542b269caa8f76468a53b8d2a”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b1ec3dfe84016c69acd313e1d0d8e4e4″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=83407ac9e4742008c0e5cc9ebd99771f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e6705fd4a0ba15b3cc8a96ac4fea804e”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bba28493c2521b350afda5adfc25d863″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4ade100e4dce579ba1cfa6c53bcc8791″,”width”:890}]}, {“Weighting”: “halfwidth”, “srcset”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=76d2e9e542b269caa8f76468a53b8d2a”,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b1ec3dfe84016c69acd313e1d0d8e4e4″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=83407ac9e4742008c0e5cc9ebd99771f”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e6705fd4a0ba15b3cc8a96ac4fea804e”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bba28493c2521b350afda5adfc25d863″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4ade100e4dce579ba1cfa6c53bcc8791″,”width”:890}]}, {“Weighting”: “Immersion”, “srcset”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=09995d49e6bccde9108e818287196f18″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=5c7aba4b4aae7aaa174263751a680216″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a4f1a42b7c6d218bc768f49db5149f65″,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=60d7b09fba1521a72a1fd58d02392e2e”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4625a827cf894b6368778c1ccee1871d”,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=603eb17c81893bd56ccaa53673b9ead7″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b8e6c7a6be1ab73cbfbfacd281dee791″,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ce3ce3fef1b7167bbe6b54db44de5820″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9bd29dd7efcdbd0c5b58d8dcba64b36d”,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=7ccd71ae6cf555ea6abcff18cecb7cb4″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c40525b06f18bd7b9753b7007f10f634″,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a18e858ce620eec0460a6e060339642a”,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b0944c8e6fa6e86d7a2a5ea578235f85″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7518988a0a887572d2e663b514f21896c72a2b4c/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3dd82baab2fb2e6f8dc26d5992000a3″,”width”:960}]}]”data”:{“alt”: “Cambridge women's team heads up on the water as Oxford crew prepares the boat.”, “Caption”: “Cambridge women's team heads up on the water while Oxford crew prepares the boat., “Attribute”: {“Pinned”: false, “keyevent”: true, “summary”: false}, “blockcreatedon”: 1744544512000, “blockcreatedondisplay”: “07.41 edt”, “blocklastupdated”: 174454505000, “07.50 edt”, “blockfirstpublished”: 1744544722000, ” blockfirstpublisheddisplay “:” 07.45 edt “,” blockfirstpublisheddisplaynotimezone “:” 07.45 “, “title”:[]”Primary Datrin”: “April 13, 2025 Sun 08.11 EDT”, “SecondaryDateline”: “April 13, 2025 Sun on 13 Sun sunned on 13 edt”}, {“id”: “67f8e0058f0861692b4246f4”, “elements”: “[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It’s got pretty toxic in the buildup to the 2025 Boat Races – and we don’t just mean the sewage pollution and E coli in the Thames. There’s been an eligibility criteria row between the two fierce rivals, with three Cambridge students – two female rowers, one male – banned from the race because they were studying for postgraduate certificates in education (PGCEs) rather than a degree.
“,”elementId”:”1e6006dd-489d-4f4e-97e7-84a9db6a1b2c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
This led to Imogen Grant, the Olympic lightweight double sculls champion and a three-time Boat Race winner with Cambridge, accusing Oxford of “slimy tactics” in March, amid talk of academic snobbery. An independent panel, however, saw things the way of Oxford University Boat Club.
“,”elementId”:”9a3637aa-35f5-4b92-8206-62b601906198″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
So we’ve got the playlist ready before the 2025 event: Toxic, Bad Blood, erm … The Tide Is High? Of course, the state of the river is a serious matter. Tests carried out by water campaigners along the four-mile route revealed E coli levels three times above the threshold for “poor” bathing water status. Last year, the Oxford team revealed that some of their crew had been ill in the buildup.
“,”elementId”:”d929b840-3bcf-4745-a9f3-6e4cd5505e06″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
As for the races themselves: Cambridge boast recent dominance. The Light Blues are going for a hat-trick of victories in the 170th men’s race, while the women’s team are looking to stretch an even more impressive run. They have won the last seven Boat Races, though last year’s was a dramatic affair with the Dark Blues taking an early lead. Can Oxford turn the tide, as it were? We find out with the women’s race beginning at 1.21pm BST, the men’s starting at 2.21pm.
“,”elementId”:”4d8ec7f3-479e-4b2c-900b-722f4f0f0a68″}]”attribute”: { “pinned”: false, keyevent “: true, “summary “: false},” “blockcreatedon”: 1744543857000, “blockcreatedondisplay”: 07.30 edt “, “blocklastupdated”: 1744543853000, “blocklastdateddisplay”: 07.30 edt “, “blockfirstpublisheddisplay”: 07.30 edt “, “blockfirstpublisheddisplay”: 07.30 edt “, “blockfirstpublisheddisplaynotimezone”: 07.30 “, ” title “: ” preamble “, “: ” preamble “:”[]”Primary Datrin”: “April 13, 2025 Sun 08.11 EDT”, “SecondaryDateline”: “First published on April 13, 2025 07.30 EDT”}]”falter”: “false”: “key-events-carousel-mobile”, “absoltertervertimes”: false”
Important Events
Hundreds of thousands of people line up along the banks of the Thames Or, you're hanging your feet on a bridge, constantly growing on increasingly sunny days. It takes about 10 minutes for the women's race to begin!
Matthew Pincent, women's race referee; Speaking on the BBC, he says he's unexpectedly ready. He welcomes seeing a few things over the years, including “sinkers and swimmers.” Yikes. If we get it, it would be a prominent race.
This is the 79th female boat raceCambridge has healthy benefits. Oxford's 30 wins will win 48. The Dark Blues last won the race in 2016, and today they are still a weaker bookie. Can they pull away the Tideway's upset today?
Perhaps this is a bit late, but you won't be able to leave until you decide which clothes to wear and dash to the Thames in case you're home in your Jorz… The Guardian Style Team has compiled this clever outfit guide. I personally wear everything at the same time.
Women's race crew
Oxford: Sarah Polson, Lili Freyshem, Tessa Haining, Alexia Lowe, Sarah Marshall, Annie Anezakis, Kira Delrey, Heidi Long. Cox: Daniel Orton.
Cambridge: Katy Hempson, Gemma King, Carys Earl, Annie Werthimer, Sophia Hahn, Claire Collins, Tash Morrice, Samantha Morton. Cox: Jack Nicholas.
The judge is called someone Matthew Pincent. What does he know?
Oxford girls crew carry their boats into the waterjoin Cambridge, which is already there. A coin toss happened Oxford won And then chose the Surrey side: that means they get the advantage of a second bend. In London it looks like a lovely day with a few clouds in the sky to stop that relentless sunlight. Ideal!
A more uplifting, empowering story of Oxford v Cambridge rivals It comes through Matt Hughes. He spoke with Heidi Long and Claire Collins. They'll go again today with it all on the line – something spectacular.
preamble
It's quite toxic in the accumulation of boat races in 2025. And we don't just mean sewage pollution and e-coli on the Thames. There is a row of eligible criteria between two intense rivals, and three Cambridge students (two female rowers, one male) are banned from the race as they were studying a Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) rather than a degree.
This led to Imogen Grant, the Olympic lightweight double skulls champion and winner of three boat races at Cambridge, accusing Oxford of “slim-slim tactics” in March. However, on an independent panel we saw the way of the Oxford University boat club.
I prepared a playlist before the 2025 event: poison, bad blood, uh… is the tide high? Of course, the river condition is a serious problem. Tests conducted by water campaigners along the four-mile route revealed E COLI levels three times higher than the “poor” bathing water condition threshold. Last year, the Oxford team revealed that some of their crew had been sick with accumulation.
As for the race itself, Cambridge boasts recent dominance. The Light Blues are aiming for a hat-trick victory in their 170th men's race, but the women's team is aiming for an even more impressive run. They won the final seven boat races, but last year it was a dramatic event where the Dark Blues took an early lead. Can Oxford turn the tide? I can understand Women's race starts at 1:21pm BST, men's race starts at 2:21pm.





