Trinity Hall’s Rosa Millard has won her seat in the women’s crew to race against rivals Oxford in the 2023 Boat Race.
The linguistics undergraduate first got into rowing when she was just eight, coxing for her father at Lea Rowing Club.
After a few years of coxing she started rowing aged 13/14 years-old and has won several major competitions, not least of which being last year’s 15-length win when she stroked the women’s lightweight boat against Oxford on the Tideway.
Today’s announcement means Rosa will row in the two-seat in the open weight crew on the Tideway on March 26, at 4pm.
Mary Hockaday, Master of Trinity Hall said: “We’re thrilled for Rosa and very proud of her. The whole Trinity Hall community will be cheering for her and the Crew on the day. It’s an incredible and well-deserved achievement.”
Paul Townshend, rowing coach and boathouse Manager at Trinity Hall said: “It is testament to her commitment and boat moving ability to get into the open weights and it is an amazing achievement.”
Despite her incredible successes with Cambridge already (and in rowing outside of university competition) when asked what her greatest achievement in rowing was, Rosa said it was: “Making lifelong friends at every club I have been at and making a small change in each of these clubs for the better.”
The Boat Race is one of the world’s oldest and most famous amateur sporting events. The first Men’s Boat Race took place on 10 June 1829 at Henley on Thames, Oxford winning this race easily, and their winning boat can still be seen in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley.
The Women’s Boat Race was first held in 1927 on the Isis in Oxford but only raced intermittently until the mid-1960’s.
From 1977 until 2014 The Women’s Boat Race was held at Henley-on-Thames. In 2015 the women’s race moved to The Championship Course, taking place over the same distance as the men’s race.
In 2022, The Boat Race returned to The Championship Course after the race cancellation in 2020, and the relocation to Ely in 2021.
On 3 April 2022, Cambridge retained their title as winners of the Women’s Boat Race for the fifth consecutive year, 2 ½ lengths ahead of rivals Oxford.
Both crews broke the course record, set in 2017. Cambridge set a winning record time of 18:23 Oxford men broke Cambridge’s five year winning streak in the Men’s Boat Race winning by 2 ¼ lengths in a time of 16:42. This equals the winning Oxford time in 2005, a time which hasn’t been matched since.
The Boat Race 2023 will see the 77th Women’s Boat Race.
The full Cambridge women’s crew lists:
- Carina Graf
- Rosa Millard
- Alex Riddell-Webster
- Jenna Armstrong
- Freya Keto
- Isabelle Bastian
- Claire Brillon
- (stroke) Caoimhe Dempsey
Cox: James Trotman
