Oxford's women left their Cambridge counterparts trailing in their wake in the first women's varsity boat race to be held on the same day and same course as the men's event on Saturday. Taking control from the start at Putney on the sunlit River Thames, Oxford's eight quickly moved a boat's length clear and never faltered during the 7,000m slog to Chiswick Bridge.
Oxford's crew had to be rescued from the choppy tidal waters of the Thames during the week after getting into trouble, but neither crew suffered any alarms on Saturday as large crowds lining the river cheered. The women's race has been held since 1927 further up river at Henley, but after years of campaigning for equal billing they were finally given equality with the men.
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