Downing women also consistently place highly, currently second on the river in the Lents and sixth in the Mays.

Despite the college admitting undergraduates in 1821, Downing's boat club did not form until 1863, with their first race being in the spring of 1864.

[1] The men's 1st VIII did not feature regularly in the 1st division of the Lent and May Bumps until the 1960s.

[2] The head crew was coached by Downing alumnus Graeme Hall, who was the stroke of the Cambridge crew which won The Boat Race 1968 and The Boat Race 1969, and coached the British Men's VIII to win the silver medal in Rowing at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

In 2018, the first indoor rowing training tank in the East of England was built in the club's boathouse.