Cambridge Blue Boats Announced: The Boat Race 2026
The stage is set and the wait is over. After months of intense training, meet the crews who will be representing Cambridge on the Tideway on 4 April 2026.
The Boat Race, one of the oldest amateur sporting events in the world, will take place along the 6.8 km Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. Clare Harvey will take charge of umpiring the 80th Women’s Boat Race and Ciarán Hayes the 171st Men’s Boat Race.
Channel 4’s debut coverage of The Boat Race will be presented by Clare Balding, who brings decades worth of experience in presenting coverage of some of the world’s most iconic sporting events, including the Summer Paralympic Games for Channel 4. Announcing the crews at today’s ceremony, Balding remarked, “The Boat Race is a showcase of how education and sport go hand in hand.” Balding will be supported on Race Day by award-winning presenter and former ParalympicsGB wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan. Alex Jacques takes on lead commentary, with Olympic gold-medal winning rower Martin Cross and Olympic silver-medal winning rower Jess Eddie as co-commentators, and three-time Olympic gold medallist Pete Reed OBE on pundit duty.
Whether your watching from Putney or around the world, we hope you’ll be cheering on the crews on 3-4 April.
Saturday 4 April Schedule:
80th Women’s Boat Race | 14:21
Women’s Reserve Race (Blondie v Osiris) | 14:36
Men’s Reserve Race (Goldie v Isis) | 14:51
171st Men’s Boat Race | 15:21
Trophy Presentations, Mortlake | 15:50-16:15
Friday 3 April Schedule:
Women’s Lightweight Boat Race | 13:50
Women’s Veterans Boat Race | 14:10
Men’s Veterans Boat Race | 14:25
Men’s Lightweight Boat Race | 14:50
Lightweight Trophy Presentations | 17:15
Men’s Blue Boat
Eight rowers, one cox: united on the Tideway. Meet the athletes selected to race in the 2026 Cambridge Men’s Blue Boat.
| Name | Seat | College | Course | Nationality |
| Sammy Houdaigui | Cox | Fitzwilliam | MPhil in Real Estate Finance | American |
| Freddy Breuer | Stroke | Lucy Cavendish | MPhil Energy Technologies | German |
| Will Klipstine | 7 | Hughes Hall | MPhil Energy Technologies | American |
| Alexander McClean | 6 | Hughes Hall | MPhil in Management | British, Australian |
| Gabriel Obholzer | 5 | Peterhouse | MPhil in Modern British History | British |
| Patrick Wild | 4 | Peterhouse | Engineering BA and MEng | British |
| Kyle Fram | 3 | Lucy Cavendish | MPhil Advanced Computer Science | American |
| Noam Mouelle (President) | 2 | Hughes Hall | PhD Physics | French |
| Simon Hatcher | Bow | Peterhouse | PhD Engineering | American |
Reflecting on the moment he most anticipates, bowman Simon Hatcher said:
Chief Men’s Coach Rob Baker added:
“This year’s crew has really developed over the last few weeks. We have a lot of new athletes in the team and the crew is clicking together really well. We still have one fixture to go — the crew from Leander will include the three Cambridge Blues from the British World Champion four — and this last race is the final piece before we face Oxford on 4 April.”
Women’s Blue Boat
The wait is over. Introducing the Cambridge Women’s Blue Boat who will wear Light Blue with pride in The Boat Race 2026.
| Name | Seat | College | Course | Nationality |
| Matt Moran | Cox | Emmanuel | Master of Finance (MFin) | British, Swiss |
| Aidan Wrenn-Walz | Stroke | Fitzwilliam | MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience | American |
| Mia Freischem | 7 | Darwin | PhD in Surgery | German |
| Camille VanderMeer | 6 | Peterhouse | Masters in Business Administration | American |
| Antonia Galland | 5 | Peterhouse | MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration | German |
| Carys Earl | 4 | Gonville and Caius | Medicine MB, BChir | British, Swiss |
| Charlotte Ebel | 3 | Newnham | MPhil in Politics and International Studies | American, German |
| Isobel Campbell | 2 | Hughes Hall | MPhil in Global Risk and Resilience | British, American, Canadian |
| Gemma King (President) | Bow | St John’s | PhD in Stem Cell Biology | British |
For Carys Earl, being named to the Blue Boat is not just an achievement, but a moment filled with pride and anticipation:
Said Chief Women’s Coach Paddy Ryan:
“We have a talented squad, the deepest level of talent in my tenure, with athletes who have pushed each other hard to earn this opportunity. As we head into the final weeks, I’m excited to see what this group can deliver on race day.”
Stay tuned for the announcement of the Reserve crews – Goldie (men) and Blondie (women) on Monday 16 March and the men’s and women’s Lightweight crews on Tuesday 17 March.