Press release 17 June 2008

Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs have named two British Old Blues - Colin Smith and Henry Pelly - as their respective Presidents for the 2009 Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging and held on Sunday, 29 March.

Oxford President Colin Smith, 24 from Henley-on-Thames, rowed at 2 in the Dark Blues victory in 2006, having lost in the Race two years earlier. He is a member of the GB Olympic rowing squad and after the Beijing Games is due to return to Oxford to take an MBA course.

“I’m very proud to have been elected President for 2008/09 and look forward to building on the winning mentality that my predecessor instilled in both the Blue boat and the Isis crew this year,” said Colin. Born in Zimbabwe, he came to Britain aged 16 and gained his first GB vest as a junior in 2001. He then won gold in the coxed four at the 2002 Commonwealth Championships, World U23 silver in 2004 and bronze in the pair at the 2007 World Championships.

Cambridge President Henry Pelly, also 24, rowed at No.3 in this year’s losing Light Blue boat and is looking to gain a degree in Environmental Design in Architecture at St Edmund’s College over the next two years. Now living in London, he went to school at Eton College and was World University Champion in the Men’s Double Scull in 2006.

“Losing was very hard to take this year,” said Henry. “But we have a young, hungry and talented squad who have benefited from the club development programme to move forward. I will do all I can to lead them to victory in the Boat Race next March,” he added.

Both Presidents are about to travel to Poznan to compete in the Rowing World Cup later this week. Smith is stroking the GB Eight, while Pelly is set to row in Britain’s second men’s four boat together with three other members of the 2008 Cambridge Blue boat – Tobias Garnett, Peter Marsland and Tom Ransley.

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