Photo source: Getty Images. Written by Elizabeth Hudson. Un journaliste sportif pour la BBC. Data de 4 aprilie 2026. Oxford secured their first win in the women’s Boat Race since 2016, while Cambridge claimed their fourth straight victory in the men’s event. In the 80th women’s race on the Thames, Oxford launched a fierce start amid challenging, windy conditions over the 4.3-mile stretch from Putney to Chiswick. Cambridge couldn’t catch up as the Dark Blues held firm to triumph by 9.4 seconds, marking their 31st overall victory. “I’m overwhelmed, so happy and proud,” said Olympic bronze medallist Heidi Long, who steered the Oxford boat in her second Boat Race, to Channel 4. “It was absolutely incredible and amazing.” It was an especially sweet victory for Annie Anezakis and Sarah Marshall, who had rowed in three losing boats, and for Lilli Freischem, whose younger sister Mia was on the Cambridge boat. Image source, Getty Images. Cambridge entered the 171st men’s race as heavy favorites, and Oxford impressively kept pace for most of it. However, the Light Blues’ superior quality shone in the final third, allowing them to surge ahead and win by 11.02 seconds—their seventh victory in eight years. “That feels amazing,” said Cambridge president Noam Mouelle, who also rowed in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 crews. “It was a super-hard race.” By the halfway mark, everyone else had dropped out, but we finished the task ahead of schedule—our role was simply to get it done.
