The Oxford women's rowing team have been pictured during a training session on the River Thames in London ahead of The Boat Race this weekend.

This year will be the 169th time that Oxford and Cambridge’s men have raced each other from Putney to Mortlake on the Thames, and the 78th time the women’s crews have done so.

Approximately 250,000 people are expected to line the Middlesex and Surrey banks of the river to see if the dark blues of Oxford can gain revenge on Cambridge’s light blues, who won each of the four races (men’s, women’s, men’s reserves and women’s reserves) in 2023.

Oxford Mail: The Oxford women's team during a training session on the River Thames in London.Oxford Mail: The Oxford women's team during a training session on the River Thames in London.It left the overall record as 86-81 in the favour of Cambridge Men’s and 47-30 in the favour of Cambridge Women’s.

The 78th women’s race gets underway at 2.46pm, followed by the start of the men’s race at 3.46pm on Saturday, March 30.

First raced in 1829, The Boat Race has become one of the world’s oldest amateur sporting events, annually drawing more than 250,000 spectators to the River Thames and millions of viewers worldwide.

The crews for The Boat Race were announced at a public event 10 days ago at Battersea Power Station.

Oxford Mail: The Oxford women's team during a training session on the River Thames in London.The boat clubs of Oxford University and Cambridge University unveiled the 36 student rowers who will participate in the race.

For the first time, the crew announcement was a public event, attracting sports fans, families, shoppers and passers-by.

The Oxford Women’s crew features Sarah Marshall (bow), Ella Stadler (president), Tessa Haining, Claire Aitken, Julia Lindsay, Annie Sharp, Lucy Edmunds, Annie Anezakis (stroke), and Joe Gellett (cox).

Oxford Mail: The Oxford women's team during a training session on the River Thames in London.For Cambridge Women's, the rowers are Gemma King (bow), Jo Matthews, Clare Hole, Jenna Armstrong (president), Carina Graf, Carys Earl, Iris Powell, Megan Lee (stroke), and Hannah Murphy (cox).

Oxford Men's crew consists of Saxon Stacey (bow), Harry Glenister, Jelmer Bennema, James Doran, Elias Kun, Frederick Roper, Leonard Jenkins, Elliot Kemp (stroke), and William Denegri (cox).

The Cambridge Men's team features Sebastien Benzecry (bow and president), Noam Mouelle, Thomas Marsh, Augustus John, Kenneth Coplan, Thomas Lynch, Luca Ferraro, Matt Edge (stroke) and Ed Bracey (cox).