Going with the flow - the history of the boat race

Cambridge will keep the edge over Oxford who ever wins this year

The annual duel on the Thames between Britain's two greatest academic institutions goes all the way back to 1829.

Then the University Boat Race was staged at Henley-on-Thames, which has kept its strong links with rowing in the form of the Henley Regatta.

The race moved to Putney in 1845 and has been contested in west London ever since.

Maybe the surroundings became too familiar because last September both crews decamped to a South American jungle for an additional race - 7.5 miles along the Amazon.

Neither won. Both beaten by a third, Brazilian crew who had been training hard and were more at home in the rainforest environment.

Back on the Thames, it has been a close-run contest over the years. Cambridge has totalled 73 wins against Oxford's 68. There has been only one dead heat, in 1877.

Sinkings are rare, but not unheard of. In 1951, Oxford sank and in 1978 Cambridge did the same. In 1912, the race had to be rescheduled after both teams sank.

In the harsh winter of 1986/7, the Boat Race hit the headlines even before it had been run. A crew of experienced American oarsmen was drafted in by Oxford to help snatch back the trophy from Cambridge.

A battle of egos resulted in the sacking of one of the Americans, which prompted the others to walk out. This all happened just six weeks before the race. In true fairytale style, the rump squad of gutsy British reserves won the race.

It was such a good story that Oxford coach Dan Topolski wrote a book about the clash, which later became the basis for a feature film.