The 2024 Gemini Boat Race trials races roundup

Eight crews from each university – men and women, openweight and lightweight – battled each other, and the conditions, as they sought to impress the coaches

Taking place at the half-way point in the two-term preparations, the annual trials races provide an opportunity for each university’s coaches to see how their squads perform in the closest simulation of the Boat Race they can stage.

With the Tideway on an ebb tide ‘Yellow Flag’ demnoting strong fluvial flows, wind against stream meant that conditions were beyond lively for Cambridge’s trials races on Wednesday, 13 December. By the time the Oxford races got off the start on Friday, 15 December, the wind had swung round making for a benign race course.

Cambridge

Cambridge Women

Head Coach: Paddy Ryan

The Cambridge women chose related names for all four of the women’s trial eights crews this year to represent unity across all of the athletes in the women’s program. The naimes – Mufasa and Sarabi for the openweights, and Simba and Nala for the lightweights – are the four good lions in The Lion King who fight together to ensure the safety and longevity of their kingdom. Lions are the symbol of Cambridge University. They are the only cats that live in social groups and are fiercely loyal to their pride, who they rely on for all aspects of survival. Importantly, the leaders of each pride are female, representing the leadership we bring to our daily lives, both in the classroom and on the water.

The lead changed frequently in the first couple of minutes as athletes and coxes sought to find the right course and manage the tough water. Mufasa, on the Surrey station, took to a half length lead as the crews entered the Fulham Bend. Then returning Blue cox James Trotman took Sarabi close to Mufasa as they both looked for cleaner water. Sarabi successfully reduce the margin and the crews came out of the bend just a third of a length apart. Both were warned at five minutes in.

Sarabi closed some further as the crews shot Hammersmith, but Mufasa was able to take advantage of the inside of the Surrey Bend and moved to a length lead as the crews passed St. Paul’s. Sarabi sought to fight back but Mufasa moved out to a length of clear water as the crews passed under Barnes Bridge. At the line, Mufasa won by two and a half lengths in a time of 22.54.

Watch the race

Photos: Row360/The Boat Race Company

Mufasa (white sleeves)	Sarabi (blue sleeves)
Bow – Jessica Spain (Queens’) 2 – Freya Sutcliffe (Jesus) 3 – Annabel Stevens (Homerton) 4 – Rowan Saltmarsh (St John’s) 5 – Molly Foxell (Pembroke) 6 – Carys Earl (Gonville and Caius) 7 – Clare Hole (St Catharine’s) Stroke – Megan Lee (Lucy Cavendish) Cox – Hannah Murphy (Girton) 🇺🇸	Bow – Katy Hempson (Christ’s) 2 – Georgia Gollogly (King’s) 3 – Iris Powell (Churchill) 4 – Lucy Havard (Gonville and Caius) 5 – Carina Graf (Emmanuel) 6 – Jo Matthews (St John’s) 7 – Gemma King (St John’s) Stroke – Jenna Armstrong, President (Jesus) Cox – James Trotman (Sidney Sussex)

Meet the 2024 Cambridge Women’s squad.

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Cambridge Men

Head Coach: Rob Baker

President Seb Benzecry, who is doing a PhD in Film and Screen Studies, explained that they named their crews after two handsome characters from the film Zoolander because, “Zoolander and Hansel were two bitter rivals who eventually find common ground and unite to take on a greater enemy, so we felt they were perfect names for our crews. Also, we’re all really really ridiculously good looking.”

Watch the race

Photos: Row360/The Boat Race Company

Hansel (white sleeves)	Zoolander (blue sleeves)
Bow – Brett Taylor (Queens’) 2 – Nikita Žoglo (St Catharine’s) 3 – Joe Holey (St Catharine’s) 4 – Thomas Connor (Churchill) 5 – Sebastian Benzecry, President (Jesus) 6 – Thomas Lynch (Hughes Hall) 7 – Luke Beever (Emmanuel) Stroke – Matt Edge (St Catharine’s) Cox – Savannah Adamo (Peterhouse)	Bow – Joe Travis (St John’s) 2 – Orlando Morley (Girton) 3 – Thomas Marsh (St John’s) 4 – Augustus John (Wolfson) 5 – Kenneth Coplan (Hughes Hall) 6 – Noam Mouelle (Hughes Hall) 7 – Luca Ferraro (King’s) Stroke – Martin Amethier (Peterhouse) Cox – Ed Bracey (Wolfson)

Meet the 2024 Cambridge men’s squad.

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Cambridge Lightweight Women

Chief Coach: Bronya Sykes

Off the start both boats battled through worsening chop, but Nala made the best of the difficult conditions and used the inside of the Fulham Bend to their advantage, pushing on to establish a couple of lengths lead over Simba by Hammersmith.

Past St. Paul’s Simba got into difficulty, with one rower losing her seat and the race was stopped to permit Simba to fix the jammed seat. The boats were drawn level again in calmer waters and re-started. A second fiery start with both crews being warned ensued, but Nala’s crew were able to maintain their composure and take the lead, pushing out to a five length verdict as the crews crossed the finish line.

Simba	Nala
Bow – Maddy Jackson (St. Edmund’s) 2 – Claire Cooper (Sidney Sussex) 3 – Charley Craig (Gonville and Caius) 4 – Arden Berlinger (Pembroke) 5 – Clara Green (Lucy Cavendish) 6 – Beth Merrifield (Homerton) 7 – Lauren Britten (Magdalene) Stroke – Alice Baines (Magdalene) Cox – Kate Crowley (Sidney Sussex)	Bow – Ulrika Andersson (Queens’) 2 – Livia Lisi Vega (Downing) 3 – Charlotte Macey (Jesus) 4 – Lihani Du Plessis (Newnham) 5 – Helen Nielsen-Scott (Emmanuel) 6 – Fizz McNally (Sidney Sussex) 7 – Molly Cushing (Churchill) Stroke – Margaux Riley (Gonville and Caius) Cox – Charlotte Heeley (Gonville and Caius)

Cambridge Lightweight Men

Chief Coach: Nick Acock

This years’s crews were named after Richard Bates and Bob Greatorex who founded Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) in 1974, in preparation for the first Lightweight Boat Race in 1975.

After Greatorex took on significant water and started to swamp, the race was canceled and then rescheduled for Thursday, 14 December. The re-race took place under much better conditions, with Bates pushing out to an early lead off the start of around a canvas on the Surrey station. The crews stayed neck and neck up to Hammersmith Bridge and around to St Paul’s. Bates then pushed out to a lead of just over 1 length around the Surrey bend. The two crews were then line astern past the Eyot before Greatorex started to push back onto terms, being down just half a length at the Bandstand. Going through Barnes, Greatorex were just one seat down and continued to extend their lead to five lengths at the finish.

Photos: Row360/The Boat Race Company

Greatorex	Bates
Bow – Mathush Kantharupan (Sidney Sussex) 2 – Toby Cox (Jesus) 3 – William Liu (St. Catharine’s) 4 – Jack Morley (Corpus Christi) 5 – Sam Taylor (Clare) 6 – James Wirth (Downing) 7 – Ed Townsend (Downing) Stroke – Ben Jones (Magdalene) Cox – Jake Intrater (Wolfson)	Bow – Jamie Maxen (Gonville and Caius) 2 – Harry Weston (St. Edmund’s) 3 – Chris Hughes (Churchill) 4 – Rob McPherson (Emmanuel) 5 – Freddie Markanday (Magdalene) 6 – Tom Heppel (St. Catharine’s) 7 – Lewis Gray (St. Catharine’s) Stroke – Emile Czernuszka (Homerton) Cox – Ben Harding (Queens’)

Oxford

From this year, Oxford are now a single squad, and the the lightweight athletes have been training in mixed boats with openweight athletes up until this point. They therefore decided to race accordingly with ‘A’ races for the leading openweights, and ‘B’ race crews comprising both third eight openweight triallists and lightweight athletes.

Louis Corrigan, OUBC Men’s President, said, “This is the first time for years that two sets of Trial Eights have been run by the OUBC men in a season. On the back of this, we’ve had double the names to assign giving us a unique opportunity. The names chosen represent the extremes of the experiences when both training and racing, the good and the bad.

The ‘A’ Race crews were named ‘Panic’ and ‘Noise’. Noise represents the distractions, errors or frustrations which are part and parcel of rowing. As much as we’d all like to say things are perfect all the time, part of training and developing is things going wrong. Panic can be the response to these factors. A bit of panic isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s all about handling it calmly and delivering whatever is needed to solve the problem. A big thing for us as a team this year is how we handle whatever is thrown at us, and keep on delivering amidst any noise or panic that might be around us.

On the other end of the spectrum of the rowing experience is where ‘Peace’ raced ‘Quiet’ in the ‘B’ races. Rowing isn’t all panic and noise, much of what we do to prepare for the race is done without a crowd, without defining events or difficult conditions. Especially in a year where it’s been difficult to race externally, a lot of our preparation has only our teammates and our former selves as overt competition. If we continue to progress and deliver in the ‘Peace and Quiet’ of day-to-day training, we can have the faith in ourselves and each other that we can execute what we need to when the day comes.

Ultimately, if we wish to succeed in this endeavour, we need to handle ourselves well in all parts of this spectrum, from peace to panic, or quiet to noise. These names keep that fact clear in the mind and represent just a little part of what we continue to build this year.”

Ella Stadler, OUBC Women’s President, said, “Oxford University Boat Club Women’s choice of Romulus, Remus, Lunar, and Eclipse for our trial eights’ names reflects a profound emphasis on pack mentality and internal cohesion this year. Drawing inspiration from the powerful imagery of wolves, the team seeks to convey a strong sense of unity and collaboration, especially in their inaugural year as a merged club. Through the symbolic names, they aim to make a resounding statement of solidarity, linking all four boats in a shared pursuit of excellence. Eclipse, in particular, serves as a representation of the merger, signifying the harmonious coming together of two distinct entities.”

Oxford Women: ‘A’ race

The crews were as inseparable for most of this race as the twin brothers from Roman mythology after whom they were named – exactly what the coaches and crews would have wanted from a trials race.  The lead changed hands multiple times and with not more than two or three seats between them until after St Paul’s when Romulus started to edge ahead and by the line had stretched their lead to a length and a half.

Head Coach: Allan French

Watch the race

Photos: Row360/The Boat Race Company

Romulus (white sleeves)	Remus (blue sleeves)
Bow – Alexia Lowe (Magdalen) 2 – India Mattocks (Regent’s Park) 3 – Tessa Haining (Balliol) 4 – Lilli Freischem (Reuben) 5 – Phoebe Mountain (Merton) 6 – Annie Sharp (St Antony’s) 7 – Julia Lindsay (St Cross ) Stroke – Annie Anezakis (Pembroke) Cox – Tara Slade (St Peter’s)	Bow – Ruby Mullin (Mansfield) 2 – Tara Sallaba (St Edmund Hall) 3 – Juliet Russell (Christ Church) 4 – Maria Nielsen-Scott (Exeter) 5 – Freya Willis (Magdalen) 6 – Lucy Edmunds (Pembroke) 7 – Ella Stadler, President (Exeter) Stroke – Sarah Marshall (Jesus) Cox – Joe Gellett (St Peter’s)

Meet the 2024 Oxford Women’s squad.

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Oxford Men: ‘A’ race

Head Coach: Sean Bowden

Noise overcame Panic by a slightly over three lengths.

Watch the race

Photos: Row360/The Boat Race Company

Panic (white sleeves)	Noise (dark blue sleeves)
Bow – Joseph Rosenfeld (St Hugh’s) 2 – Adam Janes (Wolfson) 3 – Jackson Hardin (Oriel) 4 – Christopher Hull (Oriel) 5 – James Doran (Oriel) 6 – Tom Sharrock (Magdalen) 7 – Harry Glenister (Keble) Stroke – Jelmer Bennema (Exeter) Cox – Tobias Bernard (Magdalen)	Bow – Alex Underwood (Pembroke) 2 – Isaac Throsby (Oriel) 3 – Hamish Rimmer (Lady Margaret Hall) 4 – Freddy Orpin (St Catherine’s) 5 – Elliott Kemp (Oriel) 6 – Elias Kun (Green Templeton) 7 – Frederick Roper (Somerville) Stroke – Saxon Stacey (St John’s) Cox – William Denegri (Oriel)

Meet the 2024 Oxford Men’s squad.

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Oxford Women: ‘B’ race

Eclipse won by five lengths.

Eclipse (white sleeves)	Lunar (dark blue sleeves)
Bow – Dorothea Stark (Worcester) 2 – Amadea Turk (Green Templeton) 3 – Hazel Bott (St Anne’s) 4 – Kat Taylor (St Antony’s) 5 – Isabelle Rocroi (Green Templeton) 6 – Hattie Cooper (Exeter) 7 – Olivia Ramsay (St Hilda’s) Stroke – Erika Dutton (Green Templeton) Cox – Verity Black (Green Templeton)	Bow – Grace Glover (St Anne’s) 2 – Polina Danilina (Lincoln) 3 – Hermione Warr (Lady Margaret Hall) – sub for Lera Harper (Wadham) 4 – Jennie Astley (Balliol) 5 – Indigo Buckler (Wolfson) 6 – Grace Davison (Trinity) 7 – Katie Wellstead (St Edmund Hall) Stroke – Sierra Sparks (Keble) Cox – Ellie Nanni (St Hugh’s)

Oxford Men: ‘B’ race

Quiet won by one and a half lengths.

Photo: Lauren Hazel

Peace (white sleeves)	Quiet (dark blue sleeves)
Bow – Oscar Williams (Corpus Christi) 2 – Toby Whitehead (Keble) 3 – Alex Abel (Oriel) 4 – Ed Lamb (Brasenose) 5 – Dylan John (Magdalen) 6 – James Mason (St Hugh’s) 7 – Dylan Dissanayake (Green Templeton) Stroke – Luca Nadig (St Catherine’s) Cox – Louis Corrigan, President (Wadham)	B – Matthew Lees (Magdalen) 2 – Finlay Waters (Lincoln) 3 – Noah Pingul (Kellogg) 4 – Angus Mactear (St Hugh’s) 5 – Adam Pattenden (St Edmund Hall) 6 – Andrew Taylor (Magdalen) 7 – Ayman D’Souza (Christ Church) S – Isaac Throsby (Oriel) C – Rahul Marchand (New)

The 2024 Gemini Boat Race

This will take place on Saturday, 30 March 2024.

78th Women’s race: 14:46

169th Men’s Race: 15:46

Photo: Row360/The Boat Race Company