boat race boat race took place april held annually boat race rowing race crews universities oxford cambridge river thames umpired boat_race coach cambridge won lengths time minutes seconds record thirteenth consecutive victory took overall record event cambridge favour heaviest crew year boat_race history cambridge weigh average individual background boat race rowing competition university_of_oxford referred dark blues university_of_cambridge referred light blues race held taken place mile championship course river thames southwest london rivalry major point honour universities followed united_kingdom broadcast worldwide cambridge went race reigning champions having won race half lengths led overall victories oxford excluding dead heat oxford coached rowed oxford races cambridge rowers rowed light blues races rowed cambridge races cambridge coaches rowed light blues races rowed race coached light blues previous year race umpired coached cambridge times oxford previous year boats crews rowing correspondent times suggested arrival cambridge certainly fastest crew come oxford equally certain worst went report cambridge looked remarkably neat actually got slower time oxford improved pace appearance measure critics thought impossible crews cambridge crew weighed average pounds rower opponents heaviest crew time time race history crew weighed average oxford saw participants boat_race experience return crew number stroke cambridge crew contained blues making appearance including cox win pairs gold medal olympics race participants registered non british oxford cambridge australian race oxford won toss elected start surrey station handing middlesex river cambridge started race relatively calm water cambridge quicker start rating dark blues struggled patches water oxford held slight lead end wall bend river dark blues held half length lead crews passed mile_post according oxford rower writing going ahead stroke cambridge stroke pushed reduce oxford advantage long bend river favoured crews passed hammersmith_bridge cambridge trailing half length series cambridge combined intelligent steering cox pushing boat tide resulted reversal fortune cambridge leading end nearly clear oxford passing seconds ahead light blues continued increase advantage passing barnes bridge lengths ahead passed finishing post lengths ahead time minutes seconds largest winning margin race slowest winning time race oxford sank adverse conditions cambridge thirteenth consecutive victory record streak history boat race took overall record event favour wrote praise oxford crew cambridge noted produced best form early race later rowing correspondent times stated exciting race half course praised light blues saying credit cambridge crew manner recovered led bad water writing observer claimed cambridge described best crew chronicles rowing kings oxford worst
The Boat Race 1936