One of the traditional staples in the British sporting calendar returns this afternoon, as the 169th official Boat Race gets underway on the banks of the River Thames in London. There's been plenty of anticipation ahead of this year's meeting between Oxford and Cambridge universities, after the latter won both men's and women's events in 2023.
First held all the way back in 1829 between the UK's two leading higher education facilities, The Boat Race became an annual event in 1856 and has been contested almost every single year since. The two teams' eight-boats row against one another through a four-mile stretch of the Thames in south London, and the women's race, held annually since 1964, became part of the same day event as the men's in 2015.
After pipping Oxford to victory last year, Cambridge's men's side are looking to go back-to-back in 2024, and they could well get some tips on that from their female counterparts, who are looking to keep The Boat Race trophy in light blue for the seventh event running.
It's a huge weekend in British rowing, and The Sporting News has you covered to catch all the action, either live or on catch-up via your TV or live streaming service.
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When is The Boat Race? Start time for today's event
Following the reserves races at the start of the day's action, the 78th edition of the women's Boat Race gets underway at 2:46 p.m. GMT on Saturday, March 30, 2024. One hour later, the men's race will follow, beginning at 3:46 p.m.
Both races traverse a 4.2 mile stretch of the River Thames in south London, starting from Putney Bridge in Wandsworth and travelling through Fulham, Hammersmith and Chiswick before the rowers arrive at the finish line of Chiswick Bridge in Mortlake.
How to watch The Boat Race: TV channel, live stream
As one of the UK's longest-running one-off sporting events, live coverage of The Boat Race is always at a premium. Full build-up to the men's, women's and reserves races will begin in the UK on BBC One from 2:00 p.m. local time (GMT), and ends at 4:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the men's race.
BBC iPlayer is showing this coverage both live and on catch-up for viewers who wish to stream the event this Saturday, while fans worldwide can also tune into Eurovision Sport and the Olympic Channel for streaming both live and after the end of the initial broadcast.
Oxford and Cambridge crews at this year's Boat Race
The men's teams preparing to face off in today's race on the Thames are as follows, with an asterisk indicating that they have competed at the event in previous years:
| Seat | Oxford | Cambridge |
| Bow | Jelmer Bennema | Sebastian Benzecry* |
| 2 | Harry Glenister | Noam Mouelle* |
| 3 | Saxon Stacey | Thomas Marsh |
| 4 | James Doran* | Augustus John |
| 5 | Elias Kun | Kenneth Coplan |
| 6 | Frederick Roper | Thomas Lynch* |
| 7 | Leonard Jenkins | Luca Ferraro* |
| Stroke | Elliott Kemp | Matt Edge* |
| Cox | William Denegri | Thomas Tracey |
The women's teams are made up of the exact same number of team members, with Cambridge in particular looking to win their seventh straight race in a row — a feat they haven't matched since 1998.
| Seat | Oxford | Cambridge |
| Bow | Lucy Edmunds | Gemma King |
| 2 | Ella Stadler* | Joanna Matthews |
| 3 | Tessa Haining | Iris Powell |
| 4 | Claire Aitken* | Jenna Armstrong* |
| 5 | Sarah Marshall* | Carina Graf* |
| 6 | Annie Sharp | Carys Earl |
| 7 | Julia Lindsay | Clare Hole |
| Stroke | Annie Anezakis | Megan Lee |
| Cox | Joe Gellett | Hannah Murphy |
Who won last year's Boat Race?
It was a year of Cambridge dominance in 2023, with both their men's and women's teams winning the Boat Race to extend the university's lead over Oxford to 86-81 and 47-30 respectively. Featuring two members of the team set to row in the 2024 Boat Race, Cambridge women stormed to a four-and-a-half length victory, completing the 4.2 mile stretch of the Thames in 20 minutes and 29 seconds.
The men's contest was a far closer affair, with Cambridge pipping Oxford by just one-and-a-third lengths to finish in 18 minutes and 18 seconds. The two teams, made of up rowers from across the globe, featured a combined six members who will also be taking to this year's race, five of whom will be hoping to extend Cambridge's winning run.