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 Boat Race Crew Announcement 2019 (c) Julian Finney/Getty Images
The official Blue Boat crews were announced today for The Boat Race 2019聽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聽competitor was Andy Probert who was 38 when he coxed the Cambridge boat in 1992. Mike聽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 , James won Olympic Gold in both the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2004 Athens Games聽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聽trialling as part of the University Boat Club squad since September 2018, before the academic year聽started.
Speaking on his achievement Cracknell said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to appreciate what getting selected for聽The Boat Race is actually like. Training so intensively and competing with a group of guys for the聽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聽only the start, I and the other lads aren鈥檛 there for the kit and being selected, it鈥檚 about delivering on聽April 7th.鈥
With several former Blues and notable new additions for both Races, this year looks set to be聽another world-class event, showcasing the very best collegiate athletes in the world鈥檚 best-known聽Varsity match.
will take place on Sunday 7th April 2019. The Women鈥檚 Boat Race will start at 2:13pm,聽with The Men鈥檚 Boat Race an hour later at 3:10pm.
Men鈥檚 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鈥檚 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
