Cover The Oxford and Cambridge Women's teams at the Chanel J12 Boat Race 2026 (Photo: Getty Images)
The Oxford and Cambridge Women's teams at the Chanel J12 Boat Race 2026 (Photo: Getty Images)
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The Oxford Cambridge Boat Race—now known as the Chanel J12 Boat Race—represents two centuries of athletic excellence and friendly, but fierce, competition
The story goes that the famous Oxford Cambridge Boat Race, each Spring watched by hundreds of thousands spectators lining the banks of the river Thames, as well as millions more online, came into the world as a friendly bet between friends.
In 1829, Charles Merivale at Cambridge sent a letter to his school friend Charles Wordsworth at Oxford, challenging him to a match. The first race was held in Henley-on-Thames; Oxford won so easily that Cambridge spent years trying to get a rematch. It sounds like it could be the premise of a dark academia novel making the rounds on TikTok, but instead of intrigue and betrayal, this story is one of camaraderie, heritage and excellence.
Over two centuries, the Boat Race has grown from a mischievous interschool rivalry into a sporting event watched the world over. “It’s really surprising, because if you think about it, the race is really only relevant to a very small number of people: people who went to Oxford or Cambridge,” Oxford alumnus and rower Chris Lim tells us. “But I think it’s the whole romance and the history of it; the fact that the race itself is a couple hundred years old, between the two oldest rival universities in the English-speaking world, intertwined with this concept of tradition and history.”
Above The winning Oxford Women's and Cambridge Men's teams at the Chanel J12 Boat Race 2026
The winning Oxford Women's and Cambridge Men's teams at the Chanel J12 Boat Race 2026
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Lim himself rowed in the Boat Race in his time at Oxford (in the third boat, he hastens to add). “It's the most demanding team sport,” he explains. “There are eight rowers in the boat. Whether you’re rowing on the left or right side, you have to be in complete synchronisation with the other three people around you. The moment anyone is not in sync, it upsets the entire rhythm of the boat. Synchronisation and teamwork are completely essential. And that only comes from focused endeavour. It only works when people are committed and dedicated. It’s a good life lesson: it teaches people how in the future they need to work together collectively in a team with a common goal. It also emphasises the need to really put in the time in order to achieve the results.”
Above Sisters Lilli (left, rowing for Oxford) and Mia (rowing for Cambridge) Freischem during The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2026 Launch Event at Somerset House, London
Sisters Lilli (left, rowing for Oxford) and Mia (rowing for Cambridge) Freischem during The CHANEL J12 Boat Race 2026 Launch Event at Somerset House, London
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In 2025, the boat race officially became the Chanel J12 Boat Race, marking Chanel’s first foray into sports sponsorship. The brand takes its place as title sponsor and official timekeeping partner, in a move that, incongruous as it may seem at first, speaks to Chanel’s continued commitment to highlighting heritage and preserving it wherever possible. Coco Chanel herself was an avid sportswoman, and her love of movement and freedom lent itself to her fashion designs, revolutionary at the time.
The partnership is even more fitting at this time. Women athletes only joined the Boat Race in 1927; and it was only in 2015 that the women’s race was held on the same day and at the same course as the men’s. This year’s race saw thrilling scenes in the women’s race: a battle between sisters Lilli Freischem and Mia Freischem, who both rowed for opposing teams; a victory for veteran rower Annie Anezakis after four years of racing; and of course, an emotional victory for the Oxford team who unseated Cambridge after nine years of victories. “I am so proud. It was absolutely incredible,” Heidi Long, Oxford Women’s president says. “Every single stroke this year, for the whole of this year, was for this.”
Above Spectators lining the banks of the Thames for the Chanel J12 Boat Race
Spectators lining the banks of the Thames for the Chanel J12 Boat Race
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“It’s not about 16 people rowing a boat on the river, it’s about more than that—celebrating more than a century of history and tradition and rivalry,” Lim says. “I love the fact that it’s gone global, I think the popularity of the boat race will continue to evolve and grow and I think that can only be a good thing.”
