This is the story of a rivalry that has lasted for almost two centuries and which is settled on the Thames, in London: franceinfo was able to attend the last training sessions for this prestigious race.
On the banks of the Thames, at the foot of Putney Bridge, in Greater London (United Kingdom), the starting point of the race, it’s time for final training and final adjustments. This Sunday March 26 is not a day like the others: it is the 168th edition of “The Boat Race” – the “boat race”, quite simply – is above all that of a life, the one that must not be lost.
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“This race is popular because there is a winner and a loser. For whoever loses it’s horrible and for whoever wins it’s an incredible moment of glory, explains Matt Smith, the referee for the women’s race. It is as if these rowers entered an arena. Never again will they have the opportunity to experience a moment like this in their lives.” It must be said that it has been going on since 1829, when two friends, one in Oxford, the other in Cambridge, challenged each other on the Thames.
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Twelve workouts per week
Since then, the tradition has been perpetuated, year after year, and the “Boat Race” has become over the course of the competitions an increasingly high-level sporting event. Only for the 4th time in history will a Frenchman be on the water. Noam Mouelle wears the Cambridge Light Blues jersey. On franceinfo, the one who prepares a thesis in the prestigious university does not hide his pride.
“One of the things we are told is that you really have to be able to ignore the crowds, the noise and concentrate”
Noam Mouelleat franceinfo
“One must train twelve times a week, that is twice a day, every day, except for one day a week, which is a rest day. And that in addition to the courses, that’s the whole challenge: it’s that you have to do all that while studying on the side. There, we no longer prepare the technical aspect or the physiological aspect, we really prepare the psychological aspect“, he confides.
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“The Weight of History”
Organizers expect 500,000 people on the banks of the Thames and claim some 450 million viewers worldwide for an increasingly demanding race. “It’s quite tough because it’s almost seven kilometres. It’s much longer than what you can usually do, where you cover two kilometers. There are only two boats. It’s very tactical. You have to attack and not remain passive. And then there is the weight of history. There’s a lot of pressure“, specifies Sean Bowden, the head coach of the Oxford crew.
The prestige of one or the other of the two British universities is played out on Sunday afternoon on the capricious waters of the Thames. Cambridge leads, for now, 85 wins to 81 against Oxford.
