The Thames is Cambridge territory. It became clear this Sunday, in the 168th edition of the men’s regatta that confronts them annually with Oxford, the 77th of the women’s. For the first time since 2017 there was a double from the alma mater of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin or Bertrand Russell. Now the account is 86-81 in his favor in the men’s version and 47-30 in the women’s.
Oxford shirts were crying inconsolably next to Chiswick Bridge after succumbing in a race in which they really had no choice. Cambridge, with the Irish Caoimhe Dempsey, the only repeater from last year’s team, which set a record time (18 minutes 23 seconds), setting the pace, won by more than four boats away.
Almost halfway, after the Hammersmith bridge, the advantage, which began to be forged as it passed through the charming Craven Cottage, Fulham’s stadium, already seemed insurmountable. “We tried to vary a lot of things in the second half, but nothing came of it,” lamented Sara Helin, number 3 of a squad oxonian which he unsuccessfully claimed for what he considered an attempted invasion of his space.
The male dispute did not have much more history. As in the case of the girls, the cantabrigians They marked distances almost from the beginning. Sailing on the right flank, which gave them the advantage through the first and final turns, they soon opened up and again Oxford sank into Hammersmith. They attempted a final charge near the Chiswick pier. They threw the rest to the point that their helmsman, Felix Drinkall, had to receive medical attention on dry land, but to no avail.
“The cocktail of emotions when we crossed the finish line was tremendous, I had never experienced anything like this before,” said Jasper Parish, helmsman of the winning boat, whose tactic received much credit for the victory. His brother Ollie, who rowed under him, recognized him: “He had an incredible race.” The one that returns to Cambridge the masculine primacy and the one that consolidates its dominance in the feminine, in which there are already six consecutive victories.