The Boat Races, by far the most famous rowing event in the world, consistently delivers breathtaking racing across the 6.8 km Championship Course.
Since moving to the Tideway a decade ago, the hallowed Putney to Mortlake course has been decidedly light blue, with seven of the last ten races falling in Cambridge’s favour.
This year’s crews are packed with talent, both home-grown and drafted in from several national squads in the post-Olympic vacuum.
Here, Dan Spring (aka Fatsculler) examines the 18 athletes’ pedigrees as Cambridge looks to secure an eighth consecutive title and Oxford attempts, once again, to turn the tide.
Cox
Cox
Jack Nicholas - 🇬🇧/🇿🇦
Nicholas is a rare breed of Boat Race coxswain in that he only started once he arrived at Cambridge and has very little Tideway - or match race - experience. However, he has shown during fixtures that he can hold his own against much more experienced opponents.
Cox
Daniel Orton - 🇬🇧
The only undergraduate in the Oxford boat, Orton learnt to cox on the Tideway at Latymer Upper School. He fought off stiff competition for the seat, ousting last year’s Blue Boat coxswain Joe Gellett.
Verdict
Who has the stronger cox?
Oxford Advantage
Two relatively inexperienced coxes, but I’m going to give Orton of Oxford the edge for his greater Tideway experience.
Stroke
Stroke
Samantha Morton - 🇦🇺
Another athlete who did her undergraduate studies in the US, Morton was part of the Varsity VIII at the University of Pennsylvania, stroking the crew to a Grand Final finish at the NCAAs in 2023. She won gold at the U23 World Championships in 2022 and made her senior international debut last season racing as part of the Australian development eight at World Rowing Cup II and III, winning a silver medal in the latter. She was rewarded for her efforts with selection as the spare for the Australian Olympic squad in Paris.
Stroke
Heidi Long - 🇬🇧
The most experienced international in the Oxford boat, Long learnt to row at Marlow Rowing Club and was a member of the Great Britain Under23 team from 2016-2018, winning two silver medals. She made her senior debut in 2019 and in 2022 won her first senior international world title, winning gold in the women’s four at both the European and World Championships. In 2023 she again won medals at European and world level, although this time “only” bronzes. In 2024, she moved into the women’s eight, securing silver at the European Championships before ending the season with bronze at the Paris Olympics.
Verdict
Who has the stronger stroke seat?
Oxford Advantage
Clear win for Oxford.
Seven
Seven
Tash Morrice - 🇬🇧
A Durham University graduate, Morrice is one of three rowers in the Light Blue crew with senior international experience. She made her international debut in 2022, winning a silver medal in the BW8 at the U23 World Rowing Championships. She moved to the senior team in 2023, winning silver in the women's eight at the European Rowing Championships before just missing a medal at the World Rowing Championships. At the recent GBRT 5K trials, she raced with crew mate Sam Morton to a strong seventh place, making them the highest-ranked Oxbridge pair.
Seven
Kyra Delray - 🇬🇧
Probably better known to followers of the British rowing team by her maiden name, Edwards, Delray is a graduate of the University of California. She won her first World Rowing medal in 2015 at the Under19 level before again representing GB as an Under23 in 2016 and 2018, when she won a bronze in the women's quad. She made her senior debut in 2019, placing 14th in the women's double at the World Rowing Championships. She improved on this result in 2022, taking the double to eighth place in that year's Championships. In 2023, her double won the World Rowing Championships C-final to place 13th overall.
Verdict
Who has the stronger seven seat?
No Advantage for Either Crew
This is a tight battle between GB senior team colleagues. I've got to make this a draw.
Six
Six
Claire Collins - 🇺🇸
Collins is probably the standout athlete in the Cambridge boat. A graduate of Princeton, she's a two-time Under23 World medallist and made her senior debut in the women's four at the Tokyo Olympic Games, winning the B-final. In 2022, she won a silver in the women's pair at the World Rowing Cup II. At the World Rowing Championships that year, she doubled up across boat classes, winning bronze in the pair and finishing fourth in the eight. 2023 saw her race the women's four to another fourth place at the World Rowing Championships before rounding out the Olympiad with an A-final finish in the eight at the Paris Olympic Games.
Six | President
Annie Anezakis - 🇦🇺
This year's President, Anezakis, is set to win her third Blue, having raced in 2022 and 2024. Another Princeton graduate, Anezakis won the lightweight eight title at the 2021 IRA Championships in her final year Stateside - a fitting conclusion to an outstanding stint that saw her medal at every IRA appearance between 2018 and 2021. Prior to Princeton, she captained St. Catherine's School, Australia, to a national title and multiple domestic wins before also medalling across U21 and U23 events with Mercantile Rowing Club. A decorated multi-sport athlete, she earned the Caltex Best All-Rounder Award and was named a Monash University Scholar.
Verdict
Who has the stronger six seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Difficult to argue against the Olympic experience of Collins for Cambridge.
Five
Five
Carys Earl - 🇬🇧/🇨🇭
One of only two returning Blues in the Cambridge boat, Earl was part of the victorious 2024 crew. She's another Blue who only learnt to row after matriculating at Caius College under the watchful eye of coach Tim Schmalz. Since stepping up to the CUBC programme, Earl has won as part of both Blondie (2023) and the Blue Boat in 2024. She and Gemma King raced together at the recent GB 5K trials, finishing in a strong 12th place (and beating the sole Oxford representatives of Marshall & Lowe in the process).
Five
Sarah Marshall - 🇬🇧
Introduced the sport by coach and former CUBC women's president Joanna Burch at Rob Roy Boat Club in Cambridge, Marshall returns to the Oxford Blue Boat for the third time in her Oxford career. Since joining Oxford, she has been a regular GBRT triallist, finishing in 14th at the most recent Boston trials alongside 2024 Osiris rower Alexia Lowe.
Verdict
Who has the stronger five seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Earl's winning pedigree secures another light blue advantage.
Four
Four
Annie Wertheimer - 🇺🇸
Wertheimer did her undergraduate studies at William Smith College and raced in the Varsity IV that finished tenth at the Head of the Charles in 2021. She then joined Rutgers as a graduate student, where she became a mainstay in the Varsity VIII, placing second at Eastern Sprints in both 2023 and 2024, contributing to top-15 team finishes at back-to-back NCAA Championships, and securing strong showings across the Big Ten circuit.
Four
Alexia Lowe - 🇬🇧
A member of the victorious 2024 Osiris crew, Lowe steps up to the Blue Boat for 2025. Lowe is the least experienced member of the Oxford camp, having only started rowing at Magdalen College when she began her undergraduate studies.
Verdict
Who has the stronger four seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Wertheimer's NCAA experience means another seat advantage for Cambridge.
Three
Three
Sophie Hahn - 🇺🇸
Hahn, the tallest athlete in the women's race, is a former Under23 World Champion who won gold in the women's eight in 2021 and 2022. She learnt to row at Henley Rowing Club, with whom she won Henley Women’s Regatta and National Schools' Regatta titles. She did her undergraduate studies at Yale and was a member of the Yale Varsity VIII, which won bronze at the Ivy League Championships in 2024.
Three
Tessa Haining - 🇺🇸/🇬🇧
One of three returning Blues in the dark blue boat, Haining is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe. She raced in the First Varsity VIII in both 2022 and 2023, winning bronze at the Eastern Sprints, and also competed at the Ivy League Championships and Head of the Charles. A Rhodes Scholar and All-Ivy First Team honouree, Haining first earned her Oxford Blue as part of the losing 2024 crew.
Verdict
Who has the stronger three seat?
Cambridge Advantage
Advantage Cambridge in the battle of the American three seats.
Two
Two
Gemma King - 🇬🇧
This year marks King's seventh Boat Race campaign. She was selected for the lightweight eight in 2019, before racing for Blondie in 2021. King returned to the lightweight squad for 2022, where she once again secured her seat. Since 2023, she has been a mainstay of the openweight programme, racing with Blondie that year before graduating to the Blue Boat for 2024. She learnt to row at Lady Eleanor Holles School and, in 2019, raced with her twin sister (and former Oxford Blue) in the Hambleden Pairs at Henley.
Two
Lilli Freischem - 🇩🇪
Freischem took up rowing at Edinburgh University and was part of their successful novice squad, winning gold at BUCS Regatta in both the quad and eight. After moving to Oxford, she continued to develop her rowing, and in 2023, was part of the losing Osiris crew. She raced for Osiris again in 2024, helping the dark blues to their first Reserve race victory since 2015.
Verdict
Who has the stronger two seat?
Cambridge Advantage
King is one of the most experienced Boat Race athletes in history, giving her a significant advantage over Freischem.
Bow
Bow
Katy Hempson - 🇬🇧
The only undergraduate in the Cambridge boat, Hempson is a former Lightweight Blue, winning the lightweight race in 2023. Last season, she moved to the openweight squad and was selected for Blondie. She’s one of a rare breed of Blues in that she only started rowing when she joined Cambridge.
Bow
Sarah Polson - 🇺🇸
Polson is a graduate of Princeton, where she rowed for a dominant Lightweight Varsity VIII that went undefeated in both 2022 and 2023, winning back-to-back Eastern Sprints and IRA titles. She also won the Lightweight Varsity VIII in 2021 alongside OUBC President Annie Anezakis.
Verdict
Who has the stronger bow seat?
Oxford Advantage
Polson is an outstanding lightweight oarswoman; her extensive experience gives her the edge.
Key Crew Results
Cambridge
Like their men, the Cambridge women had a very front-loaded fixture schedule with major showdowns against Leander and Thames sites of early Cambridge losses.
As the season progressed, the crew became more competitive. Their last runout came at the Women’s Head of the River, where they placed third overall. This performance across the entire course was a notable step up compared to their results over the shorter pieces, and as the light blues build to training peaks, they may be looking to show their best when it matters most.
Cambridge also got the better of the dark blues at the only event where both clubs raced: The Head of the Charles.
Oxford
The Oxford women followed a very similar structure to their men, with limited public results available, but they have made some strong statements in recent weeks at both the Heineken Roeivierkamp and media fixtures on the Tideway. They finished fifth in Amsterdam, behind two British crews: Molesey and Thames. They held their own over three pieces on the Tideway against Leander but ultimately lost all pieces.
These results, while strong, are a little weaker than those that Cambridge produced against similar opposition.
The Prediction
Dan Spring's Verdict
Who will win the 79th Women's Boat Race?
Cambridge
I have Oxford ahead in three seats and Cambridge ahead in five with one all-square. The fixtures throughout the season so far have shown that Cambridge looks to have the stronger pedigree, and despite having a very experienced stern pair, I think Oxford will struggle to hold on to the light blues, who look to have a very powerful middle four.
Verdict: Cambridge by three-four lengths.
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