Light blue brothers in arms for the 2023 Boat Race
Brothers Jasper and Ollie Parish are set to represent Cambridge for the second and third time respectively in the the 2023 Boat Race.
While Jasper won last year, steering the women’s blue boat to victory, his older brother’s record currently stands at one loss and one victory.
Recent history reflects favourably for siblings in the Boat Race. Back in 2017 Jamie and Oliver Cook raced for Oxford, triumphing over their light blue opponents by just 1 ¼ lengths.
Rowing runs deep in the Parish family. Matthew Parish, who’s sons have been selected in the same crew for this years race, was a key member of the winning Cambridge crews of 1994 & 1995, part of a seven-year winning streak for the light blues.
The British Olympian said: “I am so proud of them; they continue to impress year after year and I never cease to be amazed by what they get out there and do. It goes for all the guys of course but obviously I am very pleased for my boys.”
He joked that when the family all get together, it does not take long before the conversations meanders towards the sport they all love.
“It’s all talk about Cambridge, rowing, the Boat Race, and results. We do talk about rowing quite a lot, that’s probably always been the case ever since they were small boys!
“They know what to do, Ollie is super experienced and funnily enough I have no idea what it’s like to cox! I think it must be one of the most intense things you could ever experience so I couldn’t offer Jasper advice.
“His mother was a cox and she may well have something to say but I think again, they know what they are about and I share experiences of what it was like but I don’t give them too many pointers.
The proud father noted: “My parents came to so many of the events that I did as a kid, reflecting on that I think it’s a great way to support them. We talk about paying it back, well I’m paying it back for my dad supporting me.
“Of course it’s an absolute joy as well, right from the very first time when Ollie first did National Schools as a 14-year-old it was just so much fun going to the races and watching them compete.”
Opposite Jasper in the coxing seat for Oxford will be Anna O’Hanlon, the first Australian to ever cox the Oxford crew.
O’Hanlon, who last raced in the U.K. for Newcastle University, had her season cut short in the North East due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
She said: “I think I definitely wanted to see out the season here. I would have loved to have done all the races at Newcastle, obviously didn’t get the opportunity but I wanted to enjoy a bit more time here and enjoy my experience.”
One of nine international students racing across the four top crews, the Australian added: “There are not very many people in Australia who have done it. We had one in each boat last year in the men’s crew but it’s pretty big. It means a lot to all the rowers back home, everyone knows what it is and follows the results.
“My school club has been really supportive, as well as my home club UTS Haberfield and even some of the girls in the national team have been in touch wishing me well.”
Oxford University Boat Club’s veteran coach Sean Bowden will be leading the squad for his 26th Boat Race campaign and emphasised the skills that the student at Somerville College brings to this year’s crew.
“She is a good cox, well experienced and she’s got a great feel for the boat. She communicates well with the guys and improving all the time,” outlined Bowden, who won for the first-time last year since 2017.
In the women’s race, Cambridge President Caoimhe Dempsey will be looking to lead the light blues to their sixth consecutive victory.
She said: “I feel huge amount of pride in everybody. When you are here as an athlete you feel like you have made it or achieved your goal but when you are here as a President, I am extremely proud of this club and what we represent.”
Dempsey is in the unique position of leading her crew not just off the water but setting the rhythm of the boat from the stroke seat.
She said: “I think it is an interesting psychological thing because it’s a seat that takes a lot of confidence and motivation. You must be very driven and who’s going to be more driven than the President!
“Whilst it is a different seat to any other, I am really enjoying it. If I would have been in this position in other years, I might have been less comfortable but this time around I feel like I want to be here, I know the job that needs to be done and I know I can do it.”
Dempsey is the only athlete from last year’s record breaking crew to return to Cambridge blue boat.
Cambridge Men
1. Matt Edge (St Catharine’s) 2. Brett Taylor (Queens’) 3. Noam Mouelle (Hughes Hall) 4. Seb Benzecry (Jesus College) 5. Thomas Lynch (Hughes Hall) 6. Nick Mayhew (Peterhouse) 7. Ollie Parish (Peterhouse) 8. Luca Ferraro (King’s), Cox: Jasper Parish (Clare College).
Oxford Men
1.James Forward (Pembroke) 2. Alex Bebb (St Peter’s College) 3. Freddy Orpin (St Catherine’s) 4. Tom Sharrock (Magdalen) 5. James Doran (Oriel) 6. Jean-Philippe Dufour (Lincoln) 7. Tassilo von Mueller (Hertford) 8. Felix Drinkall (Wolfson College), Cox: Anna O’Hanlon (Somerville College).
Cambridge Women
1.Carina Graf (Emmanuel) 2. Rosa Millard (Trinity Hall) 3. Alex Riddell-Webster (Murray Edwards) 4. Jenna Armstrong (Jesus College) 5. Freya Keto (St. Edmund’s) 6. Isabelle Bastian (Jesus College) 7. Claire Britton (Fitzwilliam) 8. Caoimhe Dempsey (Newnham) Cox: James Trotman (Sidney Sussex).
Oxford Women
1.Laurel Kaye (Worcester College) 2. Claire Aitken (Oriel) 3. Sara Helin (St Peter’s College) 4. Ella Stalder (Exeter College) 5. Alison Carrington (Hertford) 6. Freya Willis (Magdalen) 7. Sarah Marshall (Jesus College) 8. Esther Austin (St Anne’s College) Cox: Tara Slade (St Peter’s).
The 2023 Boat Races will take place on the 26th of March.
The 77th Women’s Race at 16:00
The 168th Men’s Race at 17:00
