Portugal Colonial - Cambridge women make it seven Boat Race wins in a row over Oxford

Oxford made a blistering start but Cambridge pulled back to within a half-a-length and then started to draw level as they took advantage of the Surrey bend on their side of the course.

Oxford tried to 'bump' Cambridge 12 minutes into the race, thinking the Light Blues were in their water.

Oxford were warned after almost colliding with their opponents and went on to lose their appeal after the race was finished.

Their unsuccessful move on the river disrupted Oxford's rhythm, with the use of the rudder slowing Oxford's progress.

Suddenly, what had been a close contest saw Cambridge pulling clear by several lengths.

Oxford made a post-race protest but umpire Richard Phelps, following several minutes' discussion with losing cox Joe Gellett, ruled the Dark Blues had moved out of their station and refused the appeal, his raising of a white flag confirming Cambridge's victory.

"In my mind (the bump) happened just after Cambridge had been warned and I don't think they had moved back," Gellett told the BBC.

He added: "Unfortunately after Richard (Phelps), the umpire conferred again with the rest of the umpires, it didn’t happen in our water. So the race (result) stands.

Cambridge cox Hannah Murphy said of the brief collision: "Seeing them (Oxford getting)closer and closer, I knew we were on our station. I had even moved slightly off our station, but I was really confident that I was in the right there and I wanted to get right back on our rhythm as soon as possible."

This was the 78th edition of the women's race, with Cambridge now leading Oxford by 48 wins to 30.

The men's race, a much older event, takes place on the same course later Saturday.

The build-up to this year's races, featuring competing crews from England's two oldest universities, was overshadowed by the publication of research revealing high levels of E.coli, a bacteria found in human waste, in the Thames.

L.Mesquita--PC