Sibling rivalry will replace sisterly love on Saturday 4 April when Lilli and Mia Freischem will do everything they can to defeat the other in the Women’s Boat Race.

Older sister Lilli has been selected for the three seat of the Oxford Women’s Blue Boat, while Mia, who is nearly two years younger, will row at seven in the Cambridge crew. This will be Mia’s first Boat Race, though she competed in Blondie last year, while it’s Lilli’s second. She had previously raced twice in Osiris. As Lilli, 26, is in her final year at Oxford this is the only opportunity the sisters will have to compete in the historic event together.

Both women got into the sport in 2020 out of “Covid boredom” through the learn-to-row programme at Edinburgh University where they completed their undergraduate studies.

Two small girls by a lake in London

Lilli and Mia, who are from Cologne, Germany, enjoying being by the water in London at an early age.

They enthused about sharing the experience of such an iconic race, with Lilli saying they will probably celebrate together moments after finishing. However, they did admit to some “friendly competition”.

Mia told The Times: “I beat her erg for the first time ever — she is always faster than me in everything off the water.” Lilli chipped in: “And I took it back two weeks later.”

Lilli, a PhD student in atmospheric physics studying climate models, added: “We’re very supportive of each other. We’re probably each other’s biggest fans. But as soon as we line up, all you think about is the race and giving it your best.”

Mia, a PhD student in surgery funded by Kidney Research UK, said: “It’s such a cool thing to know that there is someone who knows you better than anyone else doing the exact same thing. On race day we will be very internal, racing our own race, but from then onwards it’s something we will have shared.”

This last happened in 2004 Boat Race, when sisters Emma (Oxford) and Nicola (Cambridge) Payne faced off against each other. On that occasion, Emma’s Dark Blues outmuscled Cambridge significantly, recording a four length victory over the Light Blues. This was during a period of dominance for Oxford, who won the Women’s Boat Race 13 times between 2000 and 2016.

The last time brothers competed against each other in the Boat Race was in 2003 when two sets of brothers – the Matt and Ben Smith and James and David Livingston – made the opposing crews.