The seventieth Boat Race was won by Oxford on Thursday
after the most extraordinary finish that has ever been seen. Oxford not merely rowed their rivals down after passing Barnes Bridge--the point at which as a rule "all is over bar the shouting "—but did so almost on the post. Only on three previous occasions (in 1886, 1896, and 1901) has the position of the crews changed after passing Barnes Bridge. From Putney to within a few hundred yards of the winning post Cambridge led, rowing a slower stroke and in better style than Oxford. The effort of Oxford to overtake them was almost a continuous spurt, but their rowing as regards form was disappointing and heavy. Nevertheless at the end the half-trained men who had come into the bows of the Cambridge boat late in practice, owing to the illness of two of the original crew, were unable to last. Oxford came with a rush, and in an almost incredible way left Cambridge "standing." For pertinacity and grit no finer achievement has ever been seen than the Oxford spurt. At the same time the performance of Cambridge in the circumstances makes the outlook for Cambridge rowing much more hopeful than it has been for several years.
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