The Boat Race 2023: Crews announced ahead of bumper Oxbridge rowing grudge match this month

Oxford University stopped the rot last time out with triumph in the men’s race whilst Cambridge University women look for a sixth consecutive triumph.
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The Boat Race crews for Oxford University and Cambridge University have been announced ahead of the iconic rowing grudge match that will take place in London later this month.

The annual event pits two of the country’s top rowing universities together along the famous stretch of The Thames between Putney and Mortlake.

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Today the rowers for both clubs were confirmed in the always highly anticipated crew announcement in Blackfriars. A total of 36 student-athletes from nine nations will compete in this year’s event at the end of the month.

The varsity Oxbridge competition is one of the country’s oldest sporting traditions with the first-ever event taking place all the way back in 1829.

This year’s race is set to be a feisty affair with Oxford having ended a three-year Cambridge supremacy last time out.

NationalWorld walks you through The Boat Race basics, as well as who will be sitting in those revered seats this year.

What is The Boat Race?

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The Boat Race is an annual rowing race between Oxford University and Cambridge University.

Oxford University triumphed last time out (Image: Getty Images)Oxford University triumphed last time out (Image: Getty Images)
Oxford University triumphed last time out (Image: Getty Images)

The event first took place in 1829 and has happened every year since 1856. There is both a women’s and men’s category with the two races happening on the same day and on the same course in boats of eight people plus a cox.

Boats race along The Thames in London on a 6,800-metre course that is watched by flocks of crowds amounting to 270,000 people along the riverbanks of Putney, Fulham, Hammersmith and Mortlake.

When is The Boat Race 2023?

Nearly 200,000 flock to watch the annual grudge match (Image: Getty Images)Nearly 200,000 flock to watch the annual grudge match (Image: Getty Images)
Nearly 200,000 flock to watch the annual grudge match (Image: Getty Images)

This year’s The Boat Race takes place on Sunday, March 26 in London.

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The women’s race takes place at 4 pm followed by the men’s event at 5 pm. 2023 will be the 77th women’s race and the 168th men’s race.

Last year it was Oxford who triumphed in the men’s event for the first time since 2017 whilst Cambridge won the women’s race for the fifth consecutive time.

Who are the crews taking part in The Boat Race 2023?

The much-hyped-up crew announcement for The Boat Race 2023 took place on Monday morning.

Chair of The Boat Race Company Ltd, Siobhan Cassidy said: “Today 36 dedicated students representing 9 nationalities, all of whom are brilliant athletes, are announced as the crews for The 2023 Gemini Boat Race.

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“The crews are led by their four presidents, Tassilo, Sara, Ollie and Caoimhe and backed by four world-class coaches, Sean, Rob, Paddy and Andy.

“We all have a part to play in The Boat Race but when the Umpire yells Go! on Sunday the 26th, it really is all over to the crews, so let me end by congratulating them in advance and may the better crews win!”

The crews for the event are as follows -

Oxford University Women

  • Bow: Laurel Kaye (Worcester)
  • Claire Aitken (Oriel)
  • Sara Helin (St. Peter’s)
  • Ella Stadler (Exeter)
  • Alison Carrington (Hertford)
  • Freya Willis (Magdalen)
  • Sarah Marshall (Jesus)
  • Stroke: Esther Austin (St Anne’s)
  • Cox: Tara Slade (St Peter’s)

Cambridge University Women

  • Bow Carina Graf (Emmanuel)
  • Rosa Millard (Trinity Hall)
  • Alex Riddell-Webster (Murray Edwards)
  • Jenna Armstrong (Jesus)
  • Freya Keto St. (Edmund’s)
  • Isabelle Bastian (Jesus)
  • Claire Brillon (Fitzwilliam)
  • Stroke: Caoimhe Dempsey (Newnham)
  • Cox: James Trotman (Sidney Sussex)

Oxford University Men

  • Bow: James Forward (Pembroke)
  • Alex Bebb (St. Peter’s)
  • Freddy Orpin (St. Catherine’s)
  • Tom Sharrock (Magdalen)
  • James Doran (Oriel)
  • Jean-Philippe Dufour (Lincoln)
  • Tassilo von Mueller (Hertford)
  • Stroke: Felix Drinkall (Wolfson)
  • Cox: Anna O’Hanlon (Somerville)

Cambridge University Men

  • Bow: Matt Edge (St Catharine’s)
  • Brett Taylor (Queens’)
  • Noam Moulle (Hughes Hall)
  • Seb Benzecry (Jesus)
  • Thomas Lynch (Hughes Hall)
  • Nick Mayhew (Peterhouse)
  • Ollie Parish (Peterhouse)
  • Stroke: Luca Ferraro (King’s)
  • Cox: Jasper Parish (Clare)
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