Metropolitan Police Officers on a Police RIB during the 2026 Women’s Boat Race. The Boat Race is an annual rowing event between Oxford and Cambridge universities, raced in eights over a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) stretch of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake in west London. Crews are known as ‘blues’, with Cambridge racing in light blue and Oxford in dark blue. The women’s race has grown in popularity since its television debut in 2015, attracting 4.8 million viewers that year. As of 2025, Cambridge leads with 49 wins to Oxford’s 30, having held the overall advantage since 1966.

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