Cambridge Crews Announced: The Boat Race 2026

The Boat Race, one of the world’s oldest amateur sporting events, will once again unfold along the historic 6.8 km Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. Clare Harvey will umpire the 80th Women’s Boat Race, while Ciarán Hayes will oversee the 171st Men’s Boat Race.

Channel 4’s debut coverage of The Boat Race will be presented by Clare Balding, whose decades of experience in presenting global sporting events include the Summer Paralympic Games for Channel 4. Speaking at last week’s crew announcement, Balding reflected, “The Boat Race is a showcase of how education and sport go hand in hand.” She will be joined on Race Day by award‑winning presenter and former ParalympicsGB wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan. Alex Jacques leads commentary, supported by Olympic gold medallist Martin Cross and Olympic silver medallist Jess Eddie, with three‑time Olympic champion Pete Reed OBE providing expert analysis.

We are also pleased to welcome Times Radio as the new official radio partner of The Boat Race, with coverage accessible worldwide. Jane Mulkerrins will present a special edition of her Saturday afternoon programme live from the riverside in Putney between 1pm and 4pm.

Turning the Tide, The Boat Race’s annual documentary series, also returns this year. Episodes 1 and 2 are available now, with Episode 3 to follow on 23 March.

Whether you are watching from Putney or tuning in from across the world, we hope you’ll be cheering on the crews on 3-4 April.

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Saturday 4 April Schedule:

80th Women’s Boat Race | 14:21
Women’s Reserve Race (Blondie v Osiris) | 14:36
Men’s Reserve Race (Goldie v Isis) | 14:51
171st Men’s Boat Race | 15:21
Trophy Presentations, Mortlake | 15:50-16:15

Friday 3 April Schedule:

Women’s Lightweight Boat Race | 13:50
Women’s Veterans Boat Race | 14:10
Men’s Veterans Boat Race | 14:25
Men’s Lightweight Boat Race | 14:50
Lightweight Trophy Presentations | 17:15

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Men’s Blue Boat

Eight rowers, one cox: united on the Tideway. Meet the athletes selected to race in the 2026 Cambridge Men’s Blue Boat.

Seat	Name	College	Course	Nationality
Cox	Sammy Houdaigui	Fitzwilliam	MPhil in Real Estate Finance	American
Stroke	Freddy Breuer	Lucy Cavendish	MPhil Energy Technologies	German
7	Will Klipstine	Hughes Hall	MPhil Energy Technologies	American
6	Alexander McClean	Hughes Hall	MPhil in Management	British, Australian
5	Gabriel Obholzer	Peterhouse	MPhil in Modern British History	British
4	Patrick Wild	Peterhouse	Engineering BA and MEng	British
3	Kyle Fram	Lucy Cavendish	MPhil Advanced Computer Science	American
2	Noam Mouelle (President)	Hughes Hall	PhD Physics	French
Bow	Simon Hatcher	Peterhouse	PhD Engineering	American

Reflecting on the moment he most anticipates, bowman Simon Hatcher said:

Chief Men’s Coach Rob Baker added:

“This year’s crew has really developed over the last few weeks. We have a lot of new athletes in the team and the crew is clicking together really well. We still have one fixture to go — the crew from Leander will include the three Cambridge Blues from the British World Champion four — and this last race is the final piece before we face Oxford on 4 April.”

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Women’s Blue Boat

The wait is over. Introducing the Cambridge Women’s Blue Boat who will wear Light Blue with pride in The Boat Race 2026.

Seat	Name	College	Course	Nationality
Cox	Matt Moran	Emmanuel	Master of Finance (MFin)	British, Swiss
Stroke	Aidan Wrenn-Walz	Fitzwilliam	MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience	American
7	Mia Freischem	Darwin	PhD in Surgery	German
6	Camille VanderMeer	Peterhouse	Masters in Business Administration	American
5	Antonia Galland	Peterhouse	MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration	German
4	Carys Earl	Gonville and Caius	Medicine MB, BChir	British, Swiss
3	Charlotte Ebel	Newnham	MPhil in Politics and International Studies	American, German
2	Isobel Campbell	Hughes Hall	MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience	British, American, Canadian
Bow	Gemma King (President)	St John’s	PhD in Stem Cell Biology	British

For Carys Earl, being named to the Blue Boat is not just an achievement, but a moment filled with pride and anticipation:

Said Chief Women’s Coach Paddy Ryan:

“We have a talented squad, the deepest level of talent in my tenure, with athletes who have pushed each other hard to earn this opportunity. As we head into the final weeks, I’m excited to see what this group can deliver on race day.”

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Blondie

Built on grit, bonded by gold. Meet your 2026 Blondie crew, representing Cambridge in the Women’s Reserve Race.

Seat	Name	College	Course	Nationality
Cox	Lauren Schneiderman	St Edmund’s	MPhil in Obesity, Endocrinology and Metabolism	American
Stroke	Eloise Etherington	Gonville and Caius	BA Natural Sciences	British
7	Lyndsey Bryden	Peterhouse	MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience	Canadian
6	Mathilda Kitzmann	Christ’s	MPhil Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management	German
5	Alex Wiley	Jesus	MPhil in Obesity Endocrinology and Metabolism	Canadian
4	Ellie Sillar	Emmanuel	BA Natural Sciences	British
3	Nicky Wojtania	Jesus	PhD in Biotechnology	American, Polish, Canadian
2	Lucy Havard	Gonville and Caius	PhD History	British
Bow	Fizz McNally	Sidney Sussex	Medicine MB, BChir	British

Said stroke Eloise Etherington:

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Goldie

Stay tuned — coming soon!

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Men’s Lightweights

Light on the scale, mighty on the water. Introducing the 2026 Men’s Lightweights.

Seat	Name	College	Course	Nationality
Cox	Alex Taylor	Clare	Masters in Engineering	British
Stroke	Archie Smith	Kings	BA in Mathematics	British
7	James Richards	Girton	Engineering BA and MEng	British
6	Frederick Challacombe	St Catharine’s	Medicine	British
5	Josh Moore (President)	Queens’	MPhil in Literature, Culture and Thought	British
4	Nikita Mohr	Peterhouse	MPhil in Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease	German
3	Peter Crossley	Sidney Sussex	Engineering BA and MEng	British, American
2	Jeremy Wilkinson	Churchill	PhD in Particle Physics	South African, German, Irish
Bow	Victor Viennot-Bourgin	Darwin	MPhil in Nulcear Energy	French

President Josh Moore reflected on what the honour of representing Cambridge means to the squad:

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Women’s Lightweights

Tough and light, ready to ignite. Introducing your 2026 Women’s Lightweights.

Seat	Name	College	Course	Nationality
Cox	Lidya Acar	Wolfson	MPhil in Digital Humanities	American, Turkish
Stroke	Bella Munro	Peterhouse	BA History	British
7	Hannah Major	Pembroke	BA in Medical Sciences	British
6	Helena Olandi (President)	Hughes Hall	Medicine	Italian, British, Canadian
5	Jay Manson-Whitton	Peterhouse	Maths Part III (Mmath)	British
4	Zara Bek	Trinity	BA Classics	British
3	Olivia Wright	Emmanuel	BA in Biological Natural Sciences	British
2	Hannah Warren	Jesus	PhD in Chemistry	British
Bow	Lauren Allegretti	Lucy Cavendish	PhD Clinical Neuroscience	American

In her message to the selected crew, President Helena Olandi shared,