84th Boat Race | |||
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Date | 19 March 1932 | ||
Winner | Cambridge | ||
Margin of victory | 5 lengths | ||
Winning time | 19 minutes 11 seconds | ||
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) |
43–40 | ||
Umpire |
Harcourt Gilbey Gold (Oxford) |
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The 84th Boat Race took place on 19 March 1932. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race was umpired by former Oxford rower Harcourt Gilbey Gold on a shortened because of repairs to Putney Bridge. Cambridge won by five lengths, the largest winning margin for three years, in a time of 19 minutes 11 seconds, their ninth consecutive victory. The win equalled the record victorious streaks of Oxford between 1861 and 1869, and 1890 and 1898, and took the overall record to 43–40 in their favour.
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1931 race by two-and-a-half lengths, and led overall with 42 victories to Oxford's 40 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).
Oxford were coached by H. R. Barker (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1908 and 1909 races) and John Houghton Gibbon (who had participated in the 1899 and 1900 races, and umpired the previous year's race). Cambridge's coaches were F. E. Hellyer (who had rowed for the Light Blues in the 1910 and 1911 races), J. A. MacNabb (rowed in the 1924 race) and Peter Haig-Thomas (four-time Blue for Cambridge between 1902 and 1905). The race was umpired by Harcourt Gilbey Gold, former Dark Blue president for the 1900 race and four-time Blue, rowing in each race between 1896 and 1899.