THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE WOMEN'S BLUE BOATS
The Oxford and Cambridge Women's Blue Boats for The Gemini Boat Race 2022 on Sunday 3 April have been announced.
The Women's Crews
The Gemini Boat Race has a unique place in the British psyche, attracting the interest of millions of people worldwide and over 250,000 spectators on the banks of the Thames.
The Boat Race is one of the highest profile rowing events in the world and the annual focal point of a rivalry that began with the women's race in 1927.
The long-standing tradition of formally announcing the crews marks a very important day for each of the student athletes named. This year, The Women’s Boat Race looks set to be another world-class event, showcasing the very best student athletes in the world’s best-known Varsity match. The Boat Race was one of the first large scale events to be cancelled in 2020, and was relocated to Ely last year. Today, we announce the crews racing between Putney and Mortlake on the Championship Course for the 76th Women's Boat Race.
On 7 March 2022 Oxford and Cambridge introduced crews with fantastic young athletes representing their Universities at the highest level. The crews for the 2022 race comprise an incredible array of talent across all the squads, and it is a testament to the enduring attraction of this unique event that the crews have athletes in the squads who competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
It is also a unique aspect of the Boat Race that women who learnt to row at their College on the Cam or the Isis can within 3 years find themselves in a crew alongside Olympians. The dedication of all these athletes to commit to an intense training programme whilst also maintaining their full-time academic studies is incredible.
The 2022 women’s crews are truly global with 8 nationalities represented. The average age of the Cambridge crew is 24 and Oxford 22.
The Cambridge women’s crew is made up of five returning Blues; President Bronya Sykes is in the Five seat, British Olympian Imogen Grant, who placed fourth in the Lightweight Double Scull at Tokyo sits in the Stroke seat. Undergraduate Sarah Portsmouth who was selected but unable to compete in the U23’s this year, Irish woman Caomihe Dempsey who took up rowing at Trinity College Dublin and Spaniard Adriana Perez-Rotondo who learned to row as an undergraduate at Cornell University. Freshman Jasper Parish, whose brother is Stroke of the Cambridge men’s crew will be drawing on his coxing experience from his days at St Paul’s School. New Zealander and Olympian Ruby Tew who was in the Quadruple Scull in Tokyo is in the Four seat. In the Seven seat is fellow New Zealander Grace Prendergast , who raced in two boat classes at Tokyo Olympic Games winning Gold in the coxless pair and Silver in the eight. South African and former Michigan University rower Paige Badenhorst sits in the three seat.
Oxford Women have four returning Blues, President Amelia Standing, U23 World Champion in 2021, is returning for her 4th Blue. In the Four seat is Canadian Julia Lindsay whose cousin Martin Barakso is Oxford men’s President this year. Medical student and former GB international rower Anastasia Posner returns for her fifth Blue sitting in Six. Christine Cavallo, sitting at Two is an experienced Lightweight international with two U23 and three World Championship appearances for USA. Three time U23 World Champion Erin Reelick, who has represented USA at multiple World Championships achieving Bronze and Gold medals, sits at Stroke. Canadian and Tokyo Olympian in the Double Scull Gabrielle Smith sits in the Five seat. Stanford alum Anja Zehfuss sits in the Bow seat and returns for her second Blue. Australian Annie Anezakis who rowed at Princeton before Oxford as a lightweight winning Gold in the US Inter Collegiate Association Championships sits at seven. Cox Joe Gellett is the undergraduate cox who learned to cox at Hampton School and he makes his Boat Race debut after coxing Osiris in 2021.
The 2022 Gemini Boat Race will take place on Sunday 3 April, the Women’s Race will start at 14:23 GMT
BLUE BOAT

Adriana Perez Rotondo*
Newnham College
COURSE- PhD Engineering BLUE 2021
AGE - 26
NATIONALITY Spanish PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Columbia University

BOW

Anja Zehfuss*
Green Templeton College
COURSE- MPhil Development Studies BLUE 2021
AGE - 23
NATIONALITY American PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Stanford

Caoimhe Dempsey*
Newnham College
COURSE- PhD Psychology BLUE 2020, 2021
AGE - 26
NATIONALITY Irish PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Trinity College Dublin

2

Christine Cavallo
St Anne's College
COURSE- Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment
AGE - 26
NATIONALITY American PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Stanford

Paige Badenhorst
Magdalene College
COURSE- MPhil Management
AGE - 23
NATIONALITY South African PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Michigan University

3

Amelia Standing* PRESIDENT
St Anne's College
COURSE- Engineering Science BLUE 2019, 2020, 2021
AGE - 22
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - King's School Chester

Ruby Tew
Queens' College
COURSE- MBA
AGE - 28
NATIONALITY New Zealander PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Massey University

4

Julia Lindsay*
St Cross College
COURSE- DPhil Psychiatry BLUE 2021
AGE - 25
NATIONALITY Canadian PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - University of British Columbia

Bronya Sykes* PRESIDENT
Gonville & Caius College
COURSE- Archaeology BLUE 2020, 2021
AGE - 22
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Withington Girls

5

Gabrielle Smith
Regents Park College
COURSE- Water Science, Policy and Management
AGE - 27
NATIONALITY Canadian PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - McGill University

Sarah Portsmouth*
Newnham College
COURSE- Architecture BLUE 2020, 2021
AGE - 21
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Yarm School

6

Anastasia Posner*
Pembroke College
COURSE- Medicine BLUE 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
AGE - 28
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Canford School

Grace Prendergast
Queens' College
COURSE- Planning, Growth and Regeneration
AGE - 29
NATIONALITY New Zealand PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Massey University

7

Annie Anezakis
Lady Margaret Hall
COURSE- Pharmacology
AGE - 23
NATIONALITY Australian PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Princeton

Imogen Grant *
Trinity College
COURSE- Medicine BLUE 2017, 2018
AGE - 26
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Stephen Perse School

STROKE

Erin Reelick
New College
COURSE- MBA
AGE - 28
NATIONALITY American/New Zealand PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Princeton

Jasper Parish
Clare College
COURSE- Computer Science
AGE - 18
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - St Paul's School

COX

Joe Gellett
St Anne's College
COURSE- Chemistry
AGE - 21
NATIONALITY British PREVIOUS PLACE OF STUDY - Hampton School