The Boat Race 2021

It was the first time in the history of the event that both the women's and men's races were officiated by female umpires, Judith Packer and Sarah Winckless respectively.

[1] First held in 1829, the race usually takes place on the 4.2 mi (6.8 km) Championship Course, between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in south-west London.

[5][6] The organisers noted that the move to Ely was not only due to COVID-19, but also safety concerns relating to Hammersmith Bridge which had been closed to pedestrians after cracks in the structure had worsened.

[9] The 2021 course started at the stone marking the end of that wartime race, and proceeded along a 4,890 m (5,350 yd) course, from the Queen Adelaide Bridge towards Littleport.

[24] Sean Bowden was the chief coach for OUBC, having been responsible for the senior men's crew since 1997, winning 12 from the last 18 races.

[25] The OUWBC chief coach was Andy Nelder, who previously worked with Bowden and OUBC for eleven years.

CUBC's assistant coaches were Paddy Ryan, Katy Knowles, Nick Acock and Jordan Stanley.

To minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the trials took place on the Great Ouse behind closed doors and there was no pre-race social media or marketing.

[29] The CUBC women's trial featured the boats Hakuna and Matata, named after the Swahili phrase which approximates to "no worries" used in The Lion King film.

In fine conditions and umpired by Packer, Matata made the better start to lead by half a length at 500 m. At the inlet from the River Lark, Hakuna's cox, Dylan Whitaker, moved her boat into the middle of the river to take advantage of the faster flowing stream.

Hakuna took the lead around the 3,000 m mark and pulled away to win in a time of 16 minutes 5 seconds, two lengths ahead of Matata.

[29][31] Pfizer took an early lead and held an advantage of three-quarters of a length, but steering too close to their opponents, they clashed oars with AstraZeneca and were warned by Finucane.

Track began to reduce the deficit as the crews passed the Lark, and following another clash, took the lead and held clear water advantage with 1,000 m to go, eventually beating Trace by two lengths.

Both boats were close to one another and four minutes in, Oxford held a slight advantage, although Packer continued to warn the Dark Blue cox.

The Light Blues held a length's lead a minute later and although Oxford remained in touch, Cambridge passed the finishing line first.

At the ten-minute mark, Cambridge pushed before Oxford reciprocated two minutes later and, with less than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) remaining, the Dark Blues began to reduce the deficit.

[39] Sarah Tisdall, Cambridge's stroke, was magnanimous in victory: "Awesome race, massive congrats to Oxford.

[33] The bow for Cambridge men's boat, Theo Weinberger, suggested that he would "dream of this moment ... it's two years' worth of training and hard work ... there's anything you can quite compare it to.