Official Crews for The BNY Mellon Boat race and Newton Women’s Boat Race Announced
The official crews for The 2014 BNY Mellon Boat Race and Newton Women’s Boat Race were announced yesterday.
The unveiling of who will race in the Blue Boats on 30th March and 6th April took place in a combined event at BNY Mellon Centre for the second year running, as the journey towards parity between the two Races in 2015 continues.
The 160th Boat Race on 6th April will see a heavier, younger Cambridge take on a lighter, more experienced Oxford crew, with six different nationalities represented. Cambridge tipped the scales today at an average of 2.6kg per man heavier. As well as weight, the Light Blue crew also has height on its side, with an average advantage of just under 6cm per man.
In The Newton Women’s Boat Race a heavier, entirely British Cambridge crew will take on a lighter, more international Oxford Boat, with five nationalities represented. Weighing in today as well, Cambridge women are an average of 4kg per woman heavier than the Dark Blue counterparts. Like their Light Blue male compatriots, the Cambridge women also have a height advantage of around 2cm per woman.
With the more experienced crew, Oxford look to be a threatening line-up. On board are 3 Olympic medallists – Canadian President Malcolm Howard won Gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Silver in the London 2012 Games; New Zealander Storm Uru is both a World Champion and Olympic Bronze medallist from London 2012; and Brit Constantine Louloudis at stroke who also won Bronze at London 2012 and will be looking to complete a hat-trick of Boat Race wins this year. Karl Hudspith and Michael DiSanto have both rowed for GB and the USA respectively at senior international level, while New Zealander Sam O’Connor was a Junior World Champion. O’Connor is also the only New Zealander to have ever rowed in two Boat Races, and there has only been one other time in history that two Kiwis have been in a Blue Boat, in 1995 when Newton and Scott Brownlee were both in the Light Blue crew.
The Light Blues have height and weight on their side, which sees previous Race statistics stack up in their favour. Of the 68 Races since the war, the heavier crew has won 57% of the contests; while the taller crew has won 60% of the Races. They are also the significantly younger outfit, at an average of almost 3 years per man younger than their Dark Blue rivals. British cox, Ian Middleton, despite being the youngest in the crew this year, has represented GB on the international stage, coxing the GB Eight in the 2013 Junior World Championships. On board is also a significant amount of Boat Race experience in the form of bowman, Mike Thorp, who is in his fifth season – having raced in the Blue Boat twice and the Goldie Boat twice.
Both Oxford crews feature competitors from several different nationalities – with six nations in total represented between the two crews. In the Men’s Blue Boat, this is the most international Dark Blue Boat since 2010 with five non-Brits on board. In the Oxford Women’s Boat, there are five different nationalities represented – including Canadian senior international, Elizabeth Fenje, Switzerland’s Nadine Graedel Iberg, American stroke Laura Savarese, and victorious returning Blues, Alice Carrington-Windo and President Maxie Scheske, who both have dual German and British nationality.
Yet again this year, the Cambridge women’s crew is an entirely British outfit, whilst their male counterparts have a more international make-up. For only the fifth time in the history of the Race, there are four Americans in one crew, including President Steve Dudek. They are joined by Brits Thorp and Ivo Dawkins, German Helge Gruetjen and Australian Joshua Hooper – the fourth Race in a row that the Light Blues will have an Aussie in their crew. The coxing seat remains firmly in British hands, as the selection of Middleton makes it over a decade of British coxes for Cambridge – the last international to occupy the seat was James Omartin in 2003.
The two universities continue to prove their worth as centres for developing rowing talent, with several athletes and coxes who learnt their trade at their respective university graduating to the Blue Boats this year. In The BNY Mellon Boat Race, each crew will feature a rower who learnt to row at the universities – Chris Fairweather for Oxford who raced to victory with Isis in 2012, and Helge Gruetjen for Cambridge who raced in the 2013 Goldie crew. The OUWBC Blue Boat contains Nadine Graedel Iberg and cox Erin Wysocki-Jones who both came up to the Club from the college system; while in the CUWBC crew seven of the nine announced today first got into the sport at Cambridge – Caroline Reid, Kate Ashley, Holly Game, Melissa Wilson, Claire Watkins, Emily Day and cox Esther Momcilovic.
There are several returning Blues across both sets of Blue Boats that will be looking to continue either their winning ways or rectify previous disappointment. For OUWBC, three return from their victorious 2013 crew – Carrington-Windo, President Scheske and Anastasia Chitty. Returning to the CUWBC Blue Boat will be double Blues Reid and Game, are joined by fellow 2013 crew members Day, Watkins, Wilson, and President Momcilovic. There are six returning Blues in The BNY Mellon Boat Race this year – President Dudek and Thorp for Cambridge; President Howard, Karl Hudspith, Louloudis and O’Connor for Oxford – all of whom have previously won the Race.
The 2014 BNY Mellon Boat Race will take place on 6th April 2014. The Newton Women’s Boat Race will be raced a week earlier on 30th March. The Official Crews for The 2014 BNY Mellon Boat Race are listed below with their respective weights:
CAMBRIDGE
Bow: Michael Thorp – 88kg
2: Luke Juckett – 84.2kg
3: Ivo Dawkins – 89.2kg
4: Steve Dudek – 101kg
5: Helge Gruetjen – 99.6kg
6: Matthew Jackson – 94.4kg
7: Joshua Hooper – 92kg
Stroke: Henry Hoffstot – 89.6kg
Cox: Ian Middleton – 53.6kg
Total Weight Ex. Cox 728kg
Average Weight Ex. Cox 92.3kg
Total Weight Inc. Cox 791.6kg
Average Weight Inc. Cox 88kg
OXFORD
Bow: Storm Uru – 80.4kg
2: Chris Fairweather – 85.4kg
3: Karl Hudspith – 91kg
4: Thomas Swartz – 81.2kg
5: Malcolm Howard – 108.2kg
6: Michael DiSanto – 89.2kg
7: Sam O’Connor – 88.8kg
Stroke: Constantine Louloudis – 93.6
Cox: Laurence Harvey – 54.8kg
Total Weight Ex. Cox 717.8kg
Average Weight Ex. Cox 89.7kg
Total Weight Inc. Cox 772.6kg
Average Weight Inc. Cox 85.8kg
The Official Crews for The 2014 Newton Women’s Boat Race are listed below with their respective weights:
CAMBRIDGE
Bow: Caroline Reid – 64.4kg
2: Kate Ashley – 75kg
3: Holly Game -74.6kg
4: Isabella Vyvyan – 87.2kg
5: Catherine Foot – 71kg
6: Melissa Wilson – 77kg
7: Claire Watkins – 72.6
Stroke: Emily Day – 64kg
Cox: Esther Momcilovic – 52.4kg
Total Weight Ex. Cox 585.8kg
Average Weight Ex. Cox 73.2kg
Total Weight Inc. Cox 638.2kg
Average Weight Inc. Cox 70.9kg
OXFORD
Bow: Elizabeth Fenje – 58.6kg
2: Alice Carrington-Windo – 67.2kg
3: Maxie Scheske – 64.8kg
4: Nadine Graedel Iberg – 72.6kg
5: Anastasia Chitty – 69.4kg
6: Lauren Kedar – 75.4kg
7: Amber De Vere – 72kg
Stroke: Laura Savarese – 73.6kg
Cox: Erin Wysocki-Jones – 49.6kg
Total Weight Ex. Cox 553.6kg
Average Weight Ex. Cox 69.2kg
Total Weight Inc. Cox 603.2kg
Average Weight Inc. Cox 67kg