Redgrave tips Oxford heavyweights

Oxford's average weight is 15st 6.5lbs

Rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave says Oxford's heavyweight crew may have the edge in Sunday's 151st Boat Race.

Oxford tipped the scales at a combined record weight earlier this week.

Redgrave said: "Having a heavier crew tends to be more of a positive than a negative. It's a strength sport - the bigger you are, the stronger you are."

Redgrave, currently in training for the London Marathon, stressed that weight and height must be allied to supreme fitness and technique.

The five-time Olympic gold medallist added: "Rowing is also very much a sport of leverage, so average crew height is another crucial factor.

It's proven through history - the heavier crew tends to win From M Have your say on Five Live

"People think about pulling the oar through the water but what you are actually doing is putting the oar in the water and levering the boat past that position.

"So the taller you are the further you can row each length of stroke because the further you are moving your boat beyond that position each time."

Redgrave's former coach Mike Spracklen, now Canada's national coach, has worked with Oxford ahead of this year's race.

The Olympic great said: "A couple of people who've been involved (in the build-up) have told me they think Oxford will win but it is almost too close to call.

"The crews are supposed to be very evenly matched so it could go either way."

Sir Steve is donating all the proceeds from his London Marathon efforts to victims of the tsunami. He will be raising money through the Steve Redgrave Trust which supports the Association of Children's Hospices, the Children With Leukaemia charity, and the Trust's own project which aims to provide inner-city schools with rowing equipment.