Hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Brits on the banks of the Thames, an island literally in a state of emergency – but this time a tradition is probably falling apart at the legendary rowing duel between the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. The winning team, as was always the case in the end, jumped into the water or threw its helmsman in after success. However, everything could be different at this year’s edition of the prestigious Boat Race. The reason for this is a health warning.
River Action water testing along the 4.2 mile stretch between Putney and Mortlake found high levels of E.coli bacteria, which can cause health problems. However, organizers confirmed to the British Guardian that the 78th women’s race and the 169th men’s race will go ahead as planned.
The organizers nevertheless issued new safety instructions for the rowing spectacle on Saturday (4:46 p.m.). Among other things, it warns against going into the water. Teams were also reminded of the importance of dressing cuts, abrasions and blisters with waterproof dressings, taking care not to swallow river water and thoroughly cleaning all equipment.
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As a result, the sporting headlines faded into the background. Last year the “Light Blues” won both eight-man classes, and in the overall standings Cambridge is also ahead of the “Dark Blues” from Oxford (in a dead heat) with 86:81 wins for the men. In the women’s category it is 47:30 for Cambridge. From a German perspective, Elias Kun (Oxford) and Carina Graf (Cambridge) are in the boats this year.
