The Boat Race: Oxford honours are enough to get Light Blues' goat

Oxford won the 159th Boat Race yesterday by a length and a third, closing the gap on Cambridge in the head-to-head tally, which now stands at 81 wins to 77 in Cambridge's favour. In distinctly wintry conditions, the Oxford crew took control early on, eventually winning by four seconds in 17:28 – the quickest time since 2009.

Riverside spectators were subject to stricter than usual security, helicopters and police boats patrolling the Thames in great numbers to prevent any repeat of last year, when the race was disrupted by a protester who swam between the two boats. Oxford rowing president Alex Davidson said: "All credit to Cambridge, it was a great race and they pushed us all the way."

The Light Blues had better luck in the annual antidote to the Boat Race, the Goat Race, in Spitalfields, east London. Now in its fifth year, the competition saw the Cambridge goat winning in one minute and 13 seconds – the slowest Goat Race to date.