Boat Race 2025 report: Cambridge University Boat Club Women rack up eighth victory in a row over Oxford University Boat Club

Cambridge University Boat Club’s women’s crew continued their recent domination of the Boat Race by recording an eighth straight victory at the expense of their Oxford University Boat Club counterparts this afternoon.

Cambridge were widely regarded to be the favourites heading into the encounter – and they justified that position in relatively comfortable fashion to extend their winning streak.

There was drama inside the opening two minutes of the contest. Cambridge shot out and in response Oxford cox Daniel Horton, who learned to row on the Tideway, made an aggressive move. It resulted in the two crews clashing, with the force of the impact visibly knocking Cambridge’s five-seat Sophia Hahn off balance.

Umpire Matthew Pinsent immediately halted proceedings, and he even mooted the possibility of an Oxford disqualification before eventually deciding on a restart with Cambridge a third of a length in the ascendancy.

Oxford made a better start the second time around, yet Cambridge soon regained the initiative and as the crews came out the other side of Hammersmith Bridge open water started to appear between the two rivals.

To Oxford’s credit they dug deep and refused to let the Cambridge boat move further clear, but the gap never looked like closing and instead it opened up slightly as Chiswick Bridge and the finishing post honed into view.

Reflecting on the early incident, four-time gold medal winner Pinsent said: “There was a clash between the crews that stopped the race. To my mind, I was warning Oxford. The clash was heavy enough to stop the race.

“At that moment there are a range of options. You could disqualify them straight away. That did pop into my mind but you can also see, after the restart, if it affected the outcome of the race. I’m convinced the better crew, the faster crew, won.”