148th Boat Race | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date | 30 March 2002 | ||
Winner | Oxford | ||
Margin of victory | 3/4 length | ||
Winning time | 16 minutes 54 seconds | ||
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) |
77–70 | ||
Umpire | Simon Harris (Cambridge) |
||
Other races | |||
Reserve winner | Isis | ||
Women's winner | Oxford | ||
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The 148th Boat Race took place on 30 March 2002. Oxford won the race by three-quarters of a length, one of the narrowest margins of victory in the history of the contest.
In the reserve race Isis beat Goldie; Oxford also won the Women's race.
The Boat Race is an annual competition between Oxford University and Cambridge University. First held in 1829, the competition is a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) race along the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 2001 race by 3 feet (0.91 m), and led overall with 77 victories to Oxford's 69 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management for the third consecutive year.
The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race.
Despite weighing just over 1 pound (0.45 kg) less per man than their opponents, Cambridge were the pre-race favourites. Both boats contained four Blues; the Oxford cox Peter Hackworth attended St Paul's School while Cambridge's cox Ellie Griggs attended St Paul's Girls' School, so both were familiar with the course. Oxford's crew contained two American international rowers in Dan Perkins and Luke McGee, and Gerritjan Eggenkamp, a Dutch international. Cambridge's stroke, Rick Dunn, cousin of Oxford's bow Andrew Dunn, was a world champion in coxless fours, and he rowed alongside fellow British internationals Tom Stallard and Josh West. Cambridge's other international rowers included American Sam Brooks, German Sebastian Mayer and Australian Stu Welch.