The Boat Race 1980

[1] First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.

[11] Cambridge Boat Club president John Woodhouse noted: "We have cut down the number of formal dinners with old Blues and old coaches, and we have tried to keep the evenings quiet.

"[11] The Oxford crew featured three Old Blues, Chris Mahoney, Mike Diserens, and Boris Rankov, who was rowing in his third University Boat Race.

Palmer and A.G. Phillips, Cambridge's crew contained two Blues returning from the previous year's race.

[6] Hugh Laurie was following the tradition of his father, former Light Blue president and Olympic gold medallist Ran, who had won the Boat Race in 1934, 1935 and 1936.

Despite Oxford's number seven, Thomas Barry, losing part of his blade, his crew established a lead and defended it against a higher rating Cambridge.

[14] By Barnes Bridge, Oxford's bowman, Steve Francis, was exhausted and "had more or less stopped rowing".