Cambridge have trounced rivals Oxford to win the 2025 Boat Race after the big event in London was delayed due to a bizarre incident.
As the two teams prepared to do battle on the Thames, there appeared to be debris on the water.
It was then suggested that there was another boat on the river that was causing an issue and that the race wouldn't be starting until it was cleared.
Both Cambridge and Oxford rowers were forced to wait for the issue to be resolved, only adding to their nerves, with organisers rushing to clear the debris.
Cambridge have trounced rivals Oxford to win the 2025 Boat Race after the big event in London was delayed due to a bizarre incident
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Eventually, after a delay that lasted roughly 10 minutes, a piece of wood in the water was cleared with the race able to resume.
Cambridge went on to win the event for the third year in a row, having dominated Oxford from start to finish.
The incident took place after some chaos in the Women's Boat Race earlier in the day.
Cambridge were quick out of the blocks and Oxford, in their desperation to catch up, then upped the ante with blades clashing.
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Oxford, for a brief time, looked as though they'd be disqualified. However, the race resumed with Cambridge proceeding to secure glory.
Sir Matthew Pinsent was the race umpire.
On why he didn't disqualify Oxford, he explained: “There was a clash between the crews that stopped the race.
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The Women's Boat Race nearly saw Oxford disqualified earlier on Sunday
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"To my mind, I was warning Oxford. The clash was heavy enough to stop the race.
“At that moment there are 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 of the race. I’m convinced the better crew, the faster crew, won.”
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Cambridge cox Jack Nicholas spoke out after the victory. He said: "I was holding a line and Oxford really encroached on it.
"I held that line, we clashed, that’s racing. They paid the price, that’s how it goes."
Carys Earl added: "It’s something we practice for. You keep your head cool, repeated that start off, and everyone did an incredible job, especially Sophia [Hahn, who’s blade was caught in the clash], who recovered really well."
Congratulations to @Cambridge_Uni Women's Crew for winning the 79th Women's Boat Race! 👏 pic.twitter.com/mjjeOU4ltb
— The Boat Race (@theboatrace) April 13, 2025
Oxford's Daniel Orton reacted to the incident by saying: "Off the start both crews are fighting for the line.
"The umpire was warning and we moved. We were holding our line, this is just the nature of the boat race."
