Cambridge acclaim worn-out ‘warrior’
CAMBRIDGE president Seb Benzecry hailed exhausted team-mate Matt Edge “an absolute warrior” after ending his Gemini University Boat Race career victorious. On a memorable day for the Light Blues on the Thames, Cambridge’s women extended their winning sequence over Oxford to seven races.
But an against-the-odds victory was only confirmed after a lengthy protest by Oxford cox
Joe Gellett over a mid-race clash.
There was no appeal from the beaten crew in the men’s race as all the drama stemmed from
Edge being pushed to the brink of exhaustion as the finish line at Mortlake came into view.
The stroke, 23, was barely able to raise his oar in the closing stages and had to be lifted out of the boat after Cambridge made it five wins from the last six races.
He had recovered to take his place on the podium as both Cambridge crews received their trophies and medals.
Benzecry saluted Edge after Cambridge recorded their 87th win, six more than their rivals, and said: “He was such a big reason we got out to such a big lead. He was putting down such a dynamic rhythm.that takes a lot out of you in the stroke seat and I am so proud of him.we were far enough ahead that it wasn’t too much of a panic.”
On his fourth and final appearance, Benzecry added: “This was the biggest challenge we have had.we knew we had to push ourselves to a place we rarely go.”
Much had been made of pollution in the Thames and winning crews restricted their celebrations to minimal splashes.
However, Oxford’s Lenny Jenkins hinted that E. coli contributed to their defeat.
“I didn’t expect there to be such a big difference,” he admitted. “This is no way to take away from Cambridge but we had a few guys go down pretty badly with the E. coli strain.
“I was throwing up and wasn’t sure if I would be in the boat. I ultimately kept that quiet.
“I am not sure it was the right choice because I didn’t feel I had much to give.”
Oxford were odds-on favourites in the women’s race and took an early lead only to be passed. Umpire Richard Phelps listened to Oxford’s appeal over the clash but ruled they had come off their station to initiate the contact.
“I knew I was on my station and I could hear the umpire warning Oxford back,” said Cambridge cox Hannah Murphy. “The best thing for us was to move out of that situation.
“We knew they would be hot off the start so we just needed to reset and find our rhythm.”