Cambridge Lightweight & Veterans Crews Triumph in Testing Tideway Conditions
The 2026 Lightweight Boat Races delivered drama from the first stroke, as crews from both universities faced a turbulent Tideway on a grey, blustery afternoon. With choppy water and shifting winds, the river threw everything it had at the athletes, but they rose brilliantly to the challenge.
Cambridge won the coin toss for the Women’s Race and selected the Surrey station, while Oxford won the Men’s toss and likewise opted for Surrey.
In the Women’s Lightweight Boat Race, Cambridge showed remarkable composure. Although they went down off the start, their strong base rhythm soon shone. Settling confidently into the conditions, they surged through and continued to build their advantage, crossing the line 35 seconds ahead to claim an exceptional seventh consecutive victory.
The Men’s Lightweight Race opened with an explosive start from Cambridge, who established clear water coming off the Middlesex bend. From there they controlled the race impeccably, stretching away to secure a seven length victory, making it five wins in a row for the Cambridge Men.
It was equally impressive to see composed performances from our Veterans crews. Congratulations to the Cambridge Men for an impressive come-from-behind win, and to the Cambridge Women for their hard-fought victory by one length.
Men’s Lightweights
| Seat | Name | College | Course | Nationality |
| Cox | Alex Taylor | Clare | Masters in Engineering | British |
| Stroke | Archie Smith | Kings | BA in Mathematics | British |
| 7 | James Richards | Girton | Engineering BA and MEng | British |
| 6 | Frederick Challacombe | St Catharine’s | Medicine | British |
| 5 | Josh Moore (President) | Queens’ | MPhil in Literature, Culture and Thought | British |
| 4 | Nikita Mohr | Peterhouse | MPhil in Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease | German |
| 3 | Peter Crossley | Sidney Sussex | Engineering BA and MEng | British, American |
| 2 | Jeremy Wilkinson | Churchill | PhD in Particle Physics | South African, German, Irish |
| Bow | Victor Viennot-Bourgin | Darwin | MPhil in Nulcear Energy | French |
Women’s Lightweights
| Seat | Name | College | Course | Nationality |
| Cox | Lidya Acar | Wolfson | MPhil in Digital Humanities | American, Turkish |
| Stroke | Bella Munro | Peterhouse | BA History | British |
| 7 | Hannah Major | Pembroke | BA in Medical Sciences | British |
| 6 | Helena Olandi (President) | Hughes Hall | Medicine | Italian, British, Canadian |
| 5 | Jay Manson-Whitton | Peterhouse | Maths Part III (Mmath) | British |
| 4 | Zara Bek | Trinity | BA Classics | British |
| 3 | Olivia Wright | Emmanuel | BA in Biological Natural Sciences | British |
| 2 | Hannah Warren | Jesus | PhD in Chemistry | British |
| Bow | Lauren Allegretti | Lucy Cavendish | PhD Clinical Neuroscience | American |
Men’s Veterans
Bow Stephen Peel
2 Charlie Palmer
3 Rob Weitemeyer
4 Sam Brooks
5 Florian Herbst
6 Henry Pelly
7 Tom Middleton
Stroke Rod Chisholm
Cox Henry Fieldman
Women’s Veterans
Bow Jen Wainer
2 Linda Dennis
3 Anna van Leemputten
4 Cath Bishop
5 Ruth Naylor
6 Liv Coffey
7 Grace Prendergast
Stroke Alex Courage
Cox Emily Insanally