Australian rower Annie Anezakis has brought Oxford a victory against Cambridge in the annual women’s Boat Race. The 27-year-old Melburnian made history with the win which the club hadn’t seen against Cambridge since 2016.
This was Anezakis’ fourth time competing and the team won by 9.4 seconds in harsh conditions on the Thames.
Anezakis is a former women’s president of the Oxford boat club and was in the bow seat when Oxford claimed their win.
“What rowing’s taught me is that hard work, resilience and determination always pays off,” Anezakis told the UK’s Channel 4.
“If you just put it in every day, you’ll get the reward… It’s something I’ll take into the rest of my life: hard work and grit always pay off.”
Anezakis previously rowed for Princeton University in the US from 2017-2021 and she has credited Australian Olympians Stephanie Rice and Libby Trickett as her earliest sporting inspirations when she saw them win swimming gold at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Oxford’s crew also included Great Britain’s Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Heidi Long, the current club president.
Source: ABC News
