The Boat Race 2026: Cambridge Triumph in Seven of Eight Races
The Boat Race, one of the world’s oldest amateur sporting events, once again unfolded in front of 200,000 spectators along the historic 6.8 km Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. Clare Harvey umpired the 80th Women’s Boat Race, while Ciarán Hayes oversaw the 171st Men’s Boat Race. This year also marked Channel 4’s debut broadcast of the event, presented by Clare Balding.
Although conditions at the start were better than expected, the wind strengthened significantly over the second half of the course, forcing all crews to contend with increasingly choppy water.
In the Men’s Boat Race, Oxford won the toss and chose the Surrey station. The race proved to be one of the most exciting in recent memory with incredibly close racing and repeated warnings through the first 10 minutes. Oxford produced an aggressive and well-executed start, with Cambridge finally breaking away around Hammersmith, ultimately securing victory by 3 1/2 lengths, the seventh win in eight years.
The result delivered a remarkable personal milestone for Cambridge Men’s President Noam Mouelle, who became the first Cambridge oarsman in the 21st century to win four consecutive Boat Races, and the first to do so since Christopher Baillieu MBE in 1970-73. Interestingly, both men rowed in the 2 seat.
Mouelle said: “This was the most difficult race we’ve had in years.
“In these conditions we knew we had to get the job done early on in the race, which we did, but Oxford put some very good pushes in and made it as hard as possible so props to them for that.
“At the moment my main feeling is one of relief! We didn’t make any mistakes in such rough water and now I’m just going to relax and enjoy the moment. Tonight we’ll have a great dinner then take a step back and reflect on what we have achieved.”
Cox Sammy Houdaigui said: “We talked a lot before the race about what that first half would look like.
“Given that we were on the Middlesex station, and given the way the race was playing out – and knowing the conditions were going to get biblical in the second half – we really wanted to make sure we had a margin and that we could be in the water we wanted to be in the second half and not be forced to stay wide into the rougher water.
“Oxford were leaning fairly hard on us in the first quarter but at a certain point with the conditions I had to put the bow ball where it needed to be for these guys to drive us out and ahead. There were some risky moments in that of course, but I had complete confidence in the crew to come out on top. It just feels fantastic.”
In the Women’s Boat Race, Cambridge President Gemma King won the toss and selected the Surrey station. In increasingly tricky conditions, Oxford made a strong start, moving to a third of a length ahead within the first 30 seconds. Cambridge remained between 1 and 1 1/2 lengths down for much of the race, with Women’s Blue Boat cox Matt Moran working tirelessly to close the gap. But Oxford held firm, taking victory by 3 lengths, their first win since 2016.
For Goldie, the day could not have been better. Despite repeated warnings to Oxford off the start, Goldie broke away decisively on the Fulham Bend and dominated the remainder of the course, winning by an astonishing 58 seconds.
Blondie also delivered a commanding performance. After a slightly unsettled start, they found their rhythm and moved to around 1 length ahead by Hammersmith Bridge. A blade popping out of the gate briefly halted the bow pair, but the crew recovered well and went on to win by nine lengths.
University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said: “It was brilliant. It was rough out there on the water, it was really crazy in the middle of the course, and I’m so impressed with what both sides did.
“It’s delightful that Cambridge have won the Men’s race again, as well as both reserve races. The women in the Blue Boat rowed well, they did everything they could to win. They rowed with real heart and we are proud of them.”
Today’s results bring the overall records to 49-31 in favour of Cambridge Women and 89-81 in favour of Cambridge Men.
Today’s results round off a fantastic weekend of racing, following Friday’s victories for the Men’s and Women’s Lightweights and the Men’s and Women’s Veterans.
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 |
Women’s Blue Boat
| 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 |
Goldie
| Seat | Name | College | Course | Nationality |
| Cox | Freya Jenkinson | Selwyn | BA in Modern and Medieval Languages (French and Italian) | British |
| Stroke | Matt Edge | St Catharine’s | PhD in Chemistry | British |
| 7 | Luke Beever | Emmanuel | MEng Aerospace Engineering | British |
| 6 | Simon Nunayon | Emmanuel | PhD Clinical Neurosciences | British, Nigerian |
| 5 | Leonard Brahms | Wolfson | MPhil Econ History | German |
| 4 | Alex Finger | Wolfson | MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies | German |
| 3 | Calvin Tarczy | Wolfson | MPhil in Film and Screen | British, Canadian |
| 2 | George Dickinson | Hughes Hall | MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development | British, American |
| Bow | Joe Travis | Jesus | BA Music | British |
Blondie
| 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 | Imogen Breeze | Lucy Cavendish | MPhil History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine | British |
| 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 |
Men’s Lightweights
| Seat | Name | College | Course | Nationality |
| Cox | Alex Taylor | Clare | Masters in Engineering | British |
| Stroke | Archie Smith | King’s | 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 |
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 |