Boat Race 2025 LIVE: Latest updates as Cambridge and Oxford do battle once again

The Oxford men’s team is stacked with former Olympians: president and Olympic champion Tom Mackintosh, who won gold for New Zealand in the men’s eight in Tokyo 2020; Nico Kohl, a member of the Italy squad in Paris 2024; and American Nick Rusher, who won bronze in the men’s eight last summer and whose parents – who met on the national team – and sister have all competed in the Games.

• Tobias Bernard (Cox)
• Nico Kohl (Stroke)
• Nick Rusher
• Tom Mackintosh
• Tass von Mueller
• James Doran
• Felix Rawlinson
• Will O’Connell
• Tom Sharrock (Bow)

Cambridge Women have Australian 2024 Olympic spare Samy Morton and two-time Olympian, and former World Championships bronze medallist Claire Collins in their boat. The American has raced a parallel career to Long: the pair share a birthday and have faced off several times through the junior, U23 and senior ranks, including at the Olympics last summer. Cambridge’s Blue Boat also features returning winners from last year’s crew, Carys Earl and Gemma King, the latter in her seventh Boat race campaign.

• Jack Nicholas (Cox)
• Samy Morton (Stroke)
• Tash Morrice
• Claire Collins
• Carys Earl
• Annie Wertheimer
• Sophia Hahn
• Gemma King
• Katy Hempson (Bow)

Oxford Women’s most decorated rower this year is Heidi Long, a British bronze medallist from the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women’s eight. The boat’s third-place finish marked just the second time in history that GB had won a medal in the race. GB have another potential Olympian in the Oxford boat in Kyra Delray, who has won junior and under-23 medals for the national team and recovered from double hip surgery to race this Sunday.

• Daniel Orton (Cox)
• Heidi Long (Stroke)
• Kyra Delray
• Annie Anezakis
• Sarah Marshall
• Alexia Lowe
• Tessa Haining
• Lilli Freischem
• Sarah Polson (Bow)

The Blue Boats will vie for glory along a four-mile stretch of the River Thames from Putney to Mortlake, with Oxford out to end a streak of Cambridge dominance in recent years. The Light Blues have won seven years in a row in the women’s race and six of the last eight men’s races.

To combat this, Oxford have a new-look squad, with a brand-new coaching setup and a host of former Olympians in their Blue Boat.

Cambridge’s preparation for the race has been rocked by a spat over selection, with Oxford successfully banning three of the opposition crew, all PGCE students, from taking part in a debate which has dragged on for months.

Whether that has a material impact in ending Cambridge’s long winning streak remains to be seen, with all to play for.

The women’s race will start at 1.20pm with the men’s race following at 2.20pm BST on Sunday 13 April. The action will be shown live on the BBC, with coverage getting underway at 12.45pm.

We’ll bring you the latest build-up.

The annual Boat Race returns for another day of elite action on the River Thames.

This year’s edition has been rocked by controversy in the lead-up to the pivotal day, with a row erupting over eligibility rules after Olympian Tom Ford was banned from taking part for Cambridge.

Earlier, three post-graduate teacher training students were also deemed ineligible, with the decision made less than a month before the two universities were scheduled to face off.

The spat has heightened the stakes in an already-dramatic race, with Oxford seeking to end years of Cambridge domination of the event. The light blue competitors have won seven years in a row in the women’s race and six of the last eight men’s editions.