Oxford women make Boat Race History

On the day of the 168^th Grand National, Premier league football and the Masters 2015 there was just one sport that mattered to Lollipop. The Women’s Boat Race 2015.

Throughout the 70 years of the women’s contest the two august universities have never been permitted to race on the same course as the men and on the same day in front of a live television audience. Until today Lollipop. Today huge crowds watched in awe as the two teams rowed the 374 yards of the River Thames from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge. Touted favourites Oxford finished six-and-a-half lengths ahead of rivals Cambridge.

The Dark Blues were half a length up after the first minute and ruthlessly rowed ahead to finish 19 seconds clear.

The win marked a seventh success in eight for Oxford in the 70th staging of the women’s race. But this one was different as those previous victories were on a straight 2000m course at Henley not over the Thames with a gusty wind against the tide for the ladies to battle against.

The Oxford girls made it look easy but the race for equality was far from it. “It’s a really special moment, something I’ve been working towards for three years,” Oxford president Anastasia Chitty told BBC Sport.

“It’s even more special because so many women [have] not had this opportunity so it’s really humbling.”

The change began four years ago when Newton Investment Management offered the women’s race a modest sponsorship package – the first in its history. But Chief Executive Helena Morrisey wanted more.

Her demands were simple: move the women’s race to the championship course on the Tideway alongside the men’s and give both equal funding or the deal is off.

“We didn’t just want a name on a shirt; we wanted to do something meaningful,” Morrisey told the New York Times.

After initial reticence from the old boys of each institution, an agreement was reached on a five-year deal starting in 2012.

For years the Boat race has been all about the men but today the women finally had the chance to turn things around.

In Tokyo A women’s group held its first “Equal Pay Day” rally on April 10 by raising public awareness over the wage gap between genders.

The Tokyo-based National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of Japan organized the event to highlight the fact that Japanese males who work full time, on average, receive 329,600 yen ($2,740) per month, while females receive 238,000 yen, or just over 70 percent of that figure,

In America women are also fighting for equal pay and equal rights as Winner of Best supporting Actress at the Oscars Patricia Arquette injected some political fervour into the ceremony by calling for equal pay for women at the end of her speech.

All over the world women are still fighting for the same thing. Equality. So for Lollipop today was not just about a Boat Race between two posh universities. It was about a barrier being broken for women everywhere.

Money or popularity clearly is not an issue as thousands came to watch the annual boat race. Nothing is stopping Lollipop now from rowing up the River Thames although she may need some training first.