Friday 3 April 2009

A Little Bit Of UK History,

today 3rd. April 100 years ago, the dark blues (Oxford) won the boat race, the course runs East to West from Putney to Mortlake and measures 4 miles, 374 yards (6,779m), the race is usually held one hour before high water at Putney, meaning that crews race against the stream but with the flow of the tide, - the course record is 16 min 19 sec set by Cambridge in 1998, - the closest finish in Boat Race history came in 1877 when the event was declared a dead heat, however, the smallest winning margin stands at just one foot, set when Oxford pipped Cambridge in 2003, the Boat Race may be one of the most prestigious events on the British sporting calendar, but it started life in 1829 as a simple challenge between school friends, Cambridge student Charles Merivale challenged Charles Wordsworth of Oxford to a race at Henley-on-Thames, which was won by the latter's crew, it was not until 1839 that the event relocated to London, with the by now annual race taking place between Westminster and Putney, however, crowd congestion soon necessitated another move and, in 1845, the race was held for the first time on the current course between Putney and Mortlake.

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