CAMBRIDGE MEN'S BOAT RACE COACH FIRES SHOTS AFTER TWO ROWERS WERE RULED OUT IN ELIGIBILITY ROW - AND HAILS 'BEST CREW' AFTER THEY OVERCAME STAR-STUDDED OXFORD
- Cambridge men's coach Rob Baker pointed out that Oxford had 'three stars'
- But Cambridge secured the victory despite having two men ruled out of the race
- Tom Ford and Matt Heywood were not allowed to compete amid an eligibility row
Coach Rob Baker hailed the ‘best crew’ of his Cambridge career after they overcame controversy and secured a dominant victory in the 170th men’s Boat Race.
It was a clean sweep for the Light Blues, who also secured wins in the women’s and reserve races, Baker’s men claiming the trophy for a third-straight year by a margin of five-and-a-half lengths.
Build-up was dominated by an eligibility row that resulted in 2024 British Olympic gold medallist Tom Ford and former Under 23 world champion Matt Heywood ruled out of competing for Cambridge for separate reasons alongside two potential members of the women’s crew.
‘It’s the best crew I’ve coached without question at Cambridge,’ said Baker, who was appointed in 2018. ‘Maybe that made me a bit more nervous because I knew what they were capable of doing.
‘You want them to fulfil what they are capable of doing and I think we were a bit under the radar somehow.
'We have no Olympians — Oxford have three stars in the boat — so I couldn’t be more proud of them.
'The noise has just been motivation, frankly and we treated it pretty sensibly.
‘There are two guys who could have been in the boat and didn’t get that opportunity, so they are rowing for them as well.’
The men’s race started out evenly before Cambridge began building up a steady lead, ultimately crossing the finish in a winning time of 16 minutes and 56 seconds.
Read more 2025-04-13T21:37:41Z
