A century after they weren’t even allowed to race each other, the women have been handed the Boat Race’s big finish.
Call it a row reversal. For the first time, the women’s race will close the day, with the men sent out first when the Oxford and Cambridge crews race from Putney on Sunday 11 April.
The Boat Race Company, which runs the event, has flipped the running order to mark 100 years since the first Women’s Boat Race. The men go at 3:40pm and the women at 4:40pm, over the four and a quarter miles from Putney to Mortlake.
Embankment regulars can take their time. Racing starts an hour and 19 minutes later than this year, when the women went off at 2:21pm and the men at 3:21pm, on a Saturday.
At the first Women’s Boat Race, in Oxford on 15 March 1927, the two crews were not allowed to race each other. They rowed separately and were judged on style and speed, more figure skating than boat race.
A hundred years on, the organisers say the women’s race is one of the biggest events in women’s sport. By their count, this year’s was “the fifth most-watched women’s sports production of 2026”, Olympic Games coverage included, and more than 200,000 people watched the day’s racing from the banks.
Oxford’s women go in as champions after rowing away from Cambridge in rough water this year for their first win since 2016. Cambridge’s men are going for five in a row.
The gauntlet is already down: at the Presidents’ Challenge, the presidents of this year’s beaten crews formally challenged the winners to defend their titles. Cambridge women’s president Eloise Etherington challenged Oxford’s Kyra Delray, Oxford men’s president Alex Sullivan challenged Cambridge’s Simon Hatcher, and both challenges were accepted.
The crews have six months to get ready for a race day that, for once, saves the women till last. Everything else you need for the day is in our guide to Boat Race day in Putney, which we will update as April approaches.
