A mild and slightly overcast day on the Tideway saw Cambridge continue their recent dominance over the Boat Race, now in its 171st year. Following on from unanimous victories in Friday’s male and female lightweight and veteran races, Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) was able to secure further wins on Saturday. The lights blues emerged on top in the men’s Blues race, as well as in both the Goldie and Blondie races. Despite a valiant effort from Gemma King’s crew, the women’s Blues race saw an impressive Oxford side claim their first victory since 2016.

The women’s Blues race saw Oxford charge out to a lead of half a length within the first 250 metres. Powered forward by the engine room of the crew, Spanish Olympian Esther Briz Zamorano and GB rower Kyra Delray, the dark blues looked to reassume their imperious form from March’s preparatory races in Amsterdam. With both sides buffered by a strong headwind, Cambridge looked to remain in touching distance with the Oxford boat as the crews progressed down the Fulham Wall, the site of last year’s clash of blades and eventual restart. Just as in 2025, tense side-by-side encounters continued in this year’s race, with early warnings being given to Oxford. Oxford University Boat Club’s (OUBC) Louis Corrigan’s aggressive coxing forced Cambridge to row in Oxford’s dirty water. This resulted in OUBC taking up a lead of three-quarters of a length by the end of the Fulham Wall.

“The dark blues looked to reassume their imperious form from March’s preparatory races in Amsterdam”

At Mile Post, Cambridge lagged 4.55 seconds behind their navy counterparts. OUBC president Heidi Long executed an unrelenting rhythm from stroke, with CUBC cox Matt Moran forced to push his crew to a rate of 38 strokes a minute from Mile Post to Hammersmith Bridge to try and limit Oxford’s lead. Despite Cambridge’s best effort, by Hammersmith Bridge, Oxford had increased their lead to 6.29 seconds, powering ahead at the marker which has traditionally seen 80% of leading crews at this point go on to win the Boat Race.

There was hope for Cambridge after Hammersmith Bridge had been passed, with Oxford potentially beginning to tire slightly after their rapid start. Cox Matt Moran aimed to capitalise on this development by taking an aggressive line at Chiswick Eyot, moving away from the faster water towards a more traditional racing line, in spite of the difficult conditions. Unfortunately, this manoeuvre bore no fruit, with the Oxford lead growing to 9.10 seconds by Chiswick steps, and stretching to 9.40 at the finish, where OUBC triumphantly broke CUBC’s streak of eight women’s Blue Boat victories on the bounce.

In the Men’s race, Cambridge flew out of the blocks at an impressive rate of 47 strokes per minute. CUBC cox Sammy Houdagui stayed wide of the Oxford boat to avoid dirty water and prevent any crabs. This gave his crew the space needed to continue their fine form displayed in pre-boat race fixtures against arguably the fastest eight in the world: Leander As.

Oxford showed remarkable resilience to remain competitive with Cambridge from the start, despite being pitted as major underdogs by both the mainstream media and the markets. Made up of an entirely fresh eight of rowers, OUBC cox and president Tobias Bernard represented the only continuity from 2025’s emphatic defeat. Both crews received warnings from umpire Ciaran Hayes after the end of the Fulham Wall, as Houdagui and Bernard scrapped for the faster water, coming close to a clash of blades at points.

Oxford’s unanticipated competitiveness in the early stages of the contest saw a gap of only 1.96 seconds at Mile Post, with the oncoming Surrey Bend worth up to three-quarters of a length. It was at this point that the depth of CUBC’s boat began to make its mark: CUBC’s 2026 Men’s reserve boat included a world champion, while Oxford’s Fergus Pym had never rowed before this academic year.

“Houdagui was chastised by umpire Hayes for his attempts to veer into Oxford’s line”

Passing under Hammersmith Bridge, Cambridge held a lead of 3.66 seconds but faced oncoming winds of up to 16mph. Houdagui was chastised by umpire Hayes for his attempts to veer into Oxford’s line and was forced to move back out, but CUBC’s lead had still grown to 7.42 seconds at Chiswick steps. Olympian Freddie Breuer and CUBC president Noam Mouelle led the charge, with Mouelle aiming for his fourth boat race victory in as many years.

By Barnes Bridge, Cambridge had established a dominant advantage, both crews moving towards calmer water in the bridge’s aftermath in a similar fashion to the Women’s race. While Oxford had fought courageously to stay within touching distance of Cambridge’s stern in the early stages of the encounter, it was evident that the contest was over as it reached its latter stages, and CUBC crossed the line with a lead of 11.02 seconds at Mortlake.

Wins for both Goldie and Blondie capped off another set of dominant performances by CUBC in the 2026 Boat Races, ensuring that, for at least another year, the Tideway would remain Cambridge blue.