- The oars of both teams made contact shortly after the starting gun was fired
- Umpire Sir Matthew Pinsent considered a dramatic disqualification for Oxford
- But he opted for a restart and Cambridge powered home with a time of 19:25
Oxford narrowly escaped disqualification from the Women’s Boat Race after the oars of both boats collided on the Thames – leading to a stoppage just seconds in.
Umpire Sir Matthew Pinsent, the former Olympic gold medallist for Team GB, raised the red flag after Oxford’s boat drifted across toward their opponents.
They received a warning but the two teams remained within touching distance and ultimately made contact within the first two minutes.
Cambridge rower Sophia Hahn was thrown from her seat as she wrestled to take back control of the oar and Pinset brought a stop to the race before questioning whether to disqualify Oxford outright or restart proceedings.
He ultimately opted for the latter and Cambridge were awarded a third of a length advantage with Oxford cox Daniel Orton deemed to be at fault.
That helped Cambridge, led by cox Jack Nicholas, power to victory with a time of 19:25, taking their tally to 49 wins in the 79th edition of the event.
The dramatic restart was the first in the Boat Race since 2012.
Pinsent told the BBC: ‘There was a clash between the crews that stopped the race. To my mind, I was warning Oxford. The clash was heavy enough to stop the race.
‘There were a range of options. You could disqualify them straight away. That did pop into my mind but you can also see, after the restart, if it affected the outcome.
‘I’m convinced the better crew, the faster crew, won.’
Nicholas was heard unleashing an X-rated verbal tirade after the collision. As Pinsent waved his flag, the cox shouted: ‘F****** move it!’
The Boat Race rules state: ‘It shall be considered a foul, when after each race has started, there shall be any physical contact between the boats, oars, or persons, of the two crews.
‘In the event of a foul occurring either crew may claim, to the Umpire, that the other crew be disqualified.
‘If the crew making the claim was in its proper course, and the crew against whom the claim is made was out of its proper course, the latter shall be disqualified unless the foul was so slight as not to influence the race.
‘In this case the crew against who the claim was made shall only be disqualified if, in the opinion of the Umpire, it has seriously or deliberately encroached on the course of the crew making the claim.’
