In what is usually a vacuous propaganda cliché, but in this case is also definitively true, both the Cambridge men’s and women’s squads did themselves proud in heroic battles against the Oxford crews in this year’s Boat Races. The Cambridge women battled bravely to hold on to the coat-tails of Oxford, until they were almost sunk by the wrath of the Thames. Although they rolled over the finish line more than thirty lengths behind the Oxford crew, their tenacity in rescuing a boat reminiscent only of the Titanic midway through the race proved admirable. The Cambridge men, meanwhile, managed to turn both height and weight advantage into a performance of raw power and graceful poise which saw them seal victory for the first time in four years over their perpetual rivals.

The omens had not always looked so promising. Not only had Cambridge failed to win either a men’s or a women’s boat race since 2012, but the weather had also seen doubt being over the feasibility of staging the race. Although the race went ahead, the crews were forced to contend with both a choppy river and wavering Cambridge sporting morale after the Varsity footballers had lost the early match-up against Oxford at Craven Cottage, on this decisive day of university sport.

The women were forced to deal with the full-force of the river from the get-go; the determined water rebelled against the boats attempting to skip over its surface. After a promising start, Cambridge soon saw themselves slip gradually behind the favourites from Oxford. Nevertheless, and against all expectations, Cambridge hung on tight, never allowing much clear water to appear between them and their rivals until Hammersmith bridge, a feat helped by some able coxing which saw them avoid following the early steering errors made by the Oxford crew.

The choppy water Cambridge were forced to face eventually took its toll. As Oxford zig-zagged across the river to find calmer waters near the bank, Cambridge were caught in their wake and left behind. For a few seconds it even looked as if Cambridge would succumb to the elements and sink. Nevertheless, and despite both the race being effectively over, and the red flag being briefly raised by the race umpire, Cambridge extricated themselves and rose again from the rising tide, and could justly hold their heads high as they crossed the line well behind Oxford.

If Cambridge had achieved an ‘outstanding’ for effort, it was now up to the men to also salvage an outstanding result from this weekend’s sporting matches. Despite a poor run of form – their last win coming in 2012 courtesy of a broken Oxford oar – the Cambridge team came into the race as slight favourites. It would soon become apparent that Goliath would not be succumbing to David this time. Following on from a measured start, the powerful and measured Cambridge team began to put clear water between themselves and Oxford after the five-minute mark.

Nor did the initial confidence Cambridge inspired ever have reason to ebb. With the better race line secured for the first two turns, Cambridge dumped Oxford into their own turbulence, and slowly but surely continued to open up a gap which Oxford never looked like closing. With five minutes to go, it was clear that the recent bad run of boat race form had been well and truly put to bed, as the Cambridge crew cruised home to deserved applause.

Despite a loss for the women, they continue to maintain a double digit gap between them and Oxford in terms of victories; the men put some much needed daylight between them and Oxford and now lead 82 to 79. A victory, then for Cambridge; a victory too for rowing.