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The 119th Boat Race took place on 7 March 1973. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. It was won by Cambridge who passed the finishing post thirteen lengths ahead of Oxford, the largest winning margin since the 1955 race. Despite being pre-race favourites, Oxford's warm-up saw them take on board a large amount of water in rough conditions. In the reserve race, Goldie beat Isis, and in the Women's Boat Race, Cambridge were victorious. ==Background== The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").〔 First held in 1829, the race takes place on the Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Oxford by a nine-and-a-half lengths in the previous year's race. Cambridge held the overall lead, with 66 victories to Oxford's 51 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was umpired by former Oxford Blue Ronnie Howard who had rowed in the 1957 and 1959 races.〔Burnell, pp. 78–79〕 The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race.〔 It was the first year since 1927 that the main race was not covered in full on any of the BBC's national radio networks. Its 4.15pm start coincided with the conclusion of the FA Cup semi-finals, and it had been decided that the rowing would be broadcast in full on the BBC World Service and BBC Radio Oxford only. Commentator John Snagge who had described every race since 1931 was disappointed: "I do not want to be unreasonable but I am a little surprised that for an event like the Boat Race, with its tradition and history, the BBC cannot find 20 minutes on one of its four networks to carry it in full." Oxford's preparations for the race including coming second only to Leander Club in the Head of the River Race. Both crews had to cope with strong winds in their outings, with large pieces of driftwood providing additional hazards to the boats. Cambridge's number four, Chris Baillieu, recovered from a back injury while his cox, Mike Williams, spent time before the race recuperating from an upset stomach. Their number seven, Steven Tourek, was also forced from the boat with illness, missing several days training. Cambridge were coxed by Lou Barry.〔 Oxford's boat, built by Swiss manufacturer Stämpfli was considered suitable for "placid Continental lakes" while Cambridge's boat, while lighter than their previous year's craft, had a deeper hull and was "better equipped" for inclement conditions.〔 In an interview with Barry Norman writing for ''The Observer'', Oxford's stroke Sawyier had prophetically suggested: "if we do lose, I hope we're not disgraced ... it would be a kind of tawdry end of the year to be in a crew that was beaten out of sight." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Boat Race 1973」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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