Heavyweight crew power to Boat Race glory
OXFORD ARE BLUE-TIFUL
OXFORD'S heavyweight crew powered through wind and rain to triumph in
the 154th Boat Race on a turbulent Thames.
The second-biggest crew in Boat Race history defied the weather for a runaway victory as they beat off Cambridge's challenge.
The conditions meant that Oxford's winning time of 20min 53sec—21 seconds ahead of their rivals—was the slowest since 1947.
It also meant that Michael Wherley, at 36 the oldest Boat Race oarsman ever, ended his rowing career with a victory. Wherley was a three-time world champion and also a double Olympian from the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 games.
At 6ft 7in, he was a giant in the engine room of the Dark Blues' boat.
Wherley said: "We were patient. We knew it would take a while to have the opportunity to really step on it but when we saw that opportunity it was all over pretty quick."
Oxford's cox Nick Brodie (pictured) said: "Wherley did a great job."
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