Official 158th Boat Race crews announced today

The official crews for The 2012 Xchanging Boat Race were announced today at Forman's Fish Island, just a stone's throw from the London 2012 Olympic Stadium. The 158^th Boat Race on 7^th April will see oarsmen of six different nationalities competing, as the older, more internationally experienced crew from Oxford take on the younger, heavier Cambridge eight. This year will be the first time for Cambridge and only the second time ever in Boat Race history that the crew will feature only one British oarsman, returning Blue undergraduate Mike Thorp. The only other time this has happened was in 2007 when Oxford President Robin Ejsmond-Frey was the sole Brit in the crew. The rest of the Light Blue crew this year is made up of three Americans, two Australians, and individuals from Germany and New Zealand; and they will be coxed by British first year undergraduate, Ed Bosson. Alex Ross will be only the ninth New Zealander to ever have raced in The Boat Race, and will sit in the 7 seat for Cambridge, the same seat in which the last Kiwi to compete, George Bridgewater, rowed in a victorious Oxford crew in 2009. Steve Dudek, rowing at 6 for Cambridge, will be the heaviest man in the Race this year, weighing in at 109.6kg.