A year later Oxford gained revenge by coming from behind to win, after a Cambridge oarsman – Sebastian Mayer – appeared to collapse in the closing moments.

David Livingston (Oxford) raced against his older brother James, and a last minute call up for Ben Smith (who joined the Cambridge Blue Boat from Goldie hours before the race after the original crew member was injured) meant that he competed against his brother Matthew, the Oxford president.

Both universities had extremely strong intakes that year, with Cambridge boasting several world champions and the Oxford crew including Olympic silver medallist Barney Williams.

The buildup to the Olympics for the GB Men's Rowing Squad was somewhat disrupted due to illness, injury and variable form.

Bourne-Taylor did not represent Great Britain in 2005 and 2006, choosing to concentrate on finishing his degree and dedicate himself to a career in the British Army.

He returned to the international scene in 2007, rejoining the Eight, sitting in the seven seat, and winning a bronze medal at the world championships in Munich.

Perhaps surprisingly, youth failed to beat experience, and despite having a useful lead for the majority of the race, the Army succumbed to a 'Searle finish' c1992 Barcelona.

[2] His girlfriend Second Lieutenant Jo Dyer was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra on Thursday, 5 April 2007.