2019 Boat Race: James Cracknell named in two-seat for Cambridge

Oxford and Cambridge name their Blue Boat crews for the Boat Race 2019

The official Blue Boat crews were announced today for The Boat Race 2019 including James Cracknell who will row in the 2 seat for Cambridge University Boat Club.

At the age of 46, James will become the oldest Blue by a huge margin. The previous oldest Boat Race competitor was Andy Probert who was 38 when he coxed the Cambridge boat in 1992. Mike Wherley was 35 years and 8 months when he rowed for Oxford in 2008.

James first represented GB as a Junior, coming 4th at the Junior Worlds in 1989. The six-time World Champion, James won Olympic Gold in both the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2004 Athens Games alongside Dark Blue, Sir Matthew Pinsent who will umpire Isis Goldie this year.

James is studying an MPhil in Human Evolutionary Studies at Peterhouse, Cambridge and has been trialling as part of the University Boat Club squad since September 2018, before the academic year started.

Speaking on his achievement Cracknell said: “It’s impossible to appreciate what getting selected for The Boat Race is actually like. Training so intensively and competing with a group of guys for the same seats in a boat whilst studying hard at a top University, you could easily fall apart.

“After a tough year, making the Blue Boat is arguably my proudest achievement in rowing. But making the Boat is only the start, I and the other lads aren’t there for the kit and being selected, it’s about delivering on April 7th.”

With several former Blues and notable new additions for both Races, this year looks set to be another world-class event, showcasing the very best collegiate athletes in the world’s best-known Varsity match.

The Boat Race will take place on Sunday 7th April 2019. The Women’s Boat Race will start at 2:13pm, with The Men’s Boat Race an hour later at 3:10pm.

Men’s Blue Boat crews

Oxford

Bow: Achim Harzheim
2: Ben Landis
3: Patrick Sullivan
4: Benedict Aldous*
5: Tobias Schroder
6: Felix Drinkall*
7: Charlie Pearson
Stroke: Augustin Wambersie
Cox: Anna Carbery

Cambridge

Bow: Dave Bell
2: James Cracknell
3: Grant Bitler
4: Dara Alizadeh*
5: Callum Sullivan
6: Sam Hookway
7: Freddie Davidson*
Stroke: Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk
Cox: Matthew Holland*

Women’s Blue Boat crews

Oxford

Bow: Issy Dodds
2: Anna Murgatroyd
3: Renee Koolschijn*
4: Lizzie Polgreen
5: Tina Christmann
6: Beth Bridgman*
7: Liv Pryer
Stroke: Amelia Standing
Cox: Eleanor Shearer*

Cambridge

Bow: Tricia Smith*
2: Sophie Deans
3: Laura Foster
4: Larkin Sayre
5: Kate Horvat
6: Pippa Whittaker
7: Ida Gortz Jacobsen
Stroke: Lily Lindsay
Cox: Hugh Spaughton

*Denotes previous Boat Race competitor