Boat Race 2019 result: James Cracknell's Cambridge beat Oxford

Cambridge triumphed by a length in 16 minutes 57 seconds for their third win in four years

James Cracknell's Cambridge beat Oxford to cement their dominance and win the 165th Boat Race.

Cambridge started as heavy favourites and lived up to their pre-race billing to secure their third win in four years.

Former Olympic and World Champion Cracknell, 46, became the oldest entrant in Boat Race history, qualifying after taking up a Master of Philosophy degree in human evolution.

Eight years older than previous record holder, Andy Probert, Cambridge’s cox in 1992, Cracknell is the most decorated rower in the race's history after claiming gold in Syney 2000 and Athens 2004.

The double-Olympic gold medallist and six-time world champion powered to victory with the Light Blues in a feat dubbed "off the scale" by his former Great Britain colleague Matthew Pinsent.

"On the start I thought: 'I've missed this'," Cracknell told the BBC. "The first few minutes were great but they just didn't drop.

"To be honest the endurance wasn't a problem. If I had any doubt it would have been my sprinting. I just made sure I stuck it in and hopefully we had enough in the bank."

Cambridge celebrate victory (Getty)

Cracknell suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2010 when fracturing his skull in a bike accident.

But after last week confirming the end of his marriage to Beverley Turner, the Peterhouse College masters student pulled off an extraordinary personal achievement, that friend Ben Fogle called "the start of another chapter in his life".