Boat Race 2019: Cambridge with help of Olympic medallist James Cracknell win both men's and women's races

Jacob Jarvis8 April 2019

Cambridge have won the 165th men's Boat Race marking their third victory in four years.

It marked a dominant afternoon for Cambridge whose women also defeated Oxford earlier in the afternoon.

The men's triumph was a fairytale moment for 46-year-old Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, who becomes the oldest winner and competitor in history.

Cracknell, a six-time world champion powered to victory with the Light Blues in a feat dubbed "off the scale" by his former Great Britain colleague Matthew Pinsent.

James Cracknell was all smiles after the race
Getty Images

He is eight years older than the previous record holder, Cambridge's 1992 cox Andy Probert.

Cracknell had retired from rowing in 2006 but qualified for the event because he is studying a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution at Cambridge.

The Boat Race 2019 - In pictures

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It makes a remarkable turnaround for Cracknell who fought to recover after suffering a traumatic brain injury when he fractured his skull in a cycling accident in Arizona in 2010.

Cambridge made the better start in the men's race and pulled ahead at the start.

The Cambridge men's side with arms aloft following their victory
PA

The side had a half-length lead at the mile mark despite a clash of oars then quickly extended the advantage to four seconds while passing under the Hammersmith Bridge.

They won with a time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds, triumphing by one length.

The Cambridge Women's crew celebrating after their triumph
REUTERS

After the race, Cracknell told the BBC: "The first few minutes were great, but they just didn't drop. To be honest the endurance wasn't a problem.

"If I had any doubt it would have been my sprinting. I just made sure I stuck it in and hopefully we had enough in the bank."

In the Women's Boat Race, Cambridge won for the third year in a row and beat Oxford by five lengths in a time of 18 minutes and 47 seconds.

The Cambridge women completed a resounding victory in their race
EPA

New coach Robert Weber's team stormed into an early lead and refusing to relent as they asserted their dominance over their fierce rivals.

Cambridge stroke Lily Lindsay, who has rowed internationally for the USA, said nothing compared to a Boat Race victory.

"There's nothing like this," Lindsay told the BBC.

"Training alongside my team-mates has been unbelievable. It's been a pleasure."

The results saw Cambridge's men extend their head-to-head record to 84-80 while the women lead 44-30.

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