On Looking Back at Fast Water and English Sparkling Wine
The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, viewed by hundreds of thousands, captured by TV cameras, and memorialized in paintings, is all about action, speed, and fast water. Larkin Sayre (Wolfson 2017, Emmanuel 2018) remembers all of it. But one of her most enduring memories of rowing in The Boat Race – she competed in two during her time at Cambridge with a third race cancelled for the pandemic – are the moments right before the starting line, the warmup in calmer waters.
“You push off, and you row under the Putney bridge out into Wandsworth, and there aren't as many spectators out there, and it gets really quiet, and you're able to enjoy what is likely the last time that this crew is going to be together,” Sayre recounts. “I remember there was a calm feeling there, because all the training is behind you. All you have ahead of you is the race.”
Sayre has been busy since she hung up her oars and completed her PhD at Cambridge in 2022. As a photovoltaics expert, she worked for the U.S. Department of Energy on integrating solar energy throughout America’s power grid and then went on to a self-driven enterprise, writing grants for and setting up cleantech companies.
But ask her about her time rowing for Cambridge, and her recollections bring you right onto the river with her, rowing to a win in the 2019 Blue Boat.
“I remember watching Oxford the entire time and feeling like, oh, they're catching up. Oh, they're not. Then approaching the final 500 meters, which is the last two minutes of the race, starting something called our sprint sequence; your legs are burning, and your lungs are burning, and you just want it to end. And then it's all just suddenly over, and you float under Chiswick Bridge, hug your teammates, and spray champagne. No, make that English sparkling wine. It’s very tasty.”
Sayre, who was a member and then president of what was then the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club (CUWBC) [Now both Men’s and Women’s teams are part of CUBC], also recalls the unique challenges of the Thames.
“The Thames is tidal, and so there is a difference of water level of up to seven meters every day. At the peak of flow, the water is rushing past incredibly quickly.”
Cambridge and the Thames have long been a part of Sayre’s life. She was born in Seattle where she lives now but actually grew up in Cambridge. Her family moved there when Sayre was eight years old, and Cambridge became her neighborhood, and in many respects, her hometown.
Ariel Sayre (wearing black) and Larkin Sayre (wearing the pink scarf) share a moment together.
“Cambridge is an incredible place to grow up, and I went to local schools. I remember many walks around the beautiful buildings of Cambridge and because the University is embedded in the town, it's a big part of any childhood there. I remember exploring the colleges with my siblings, visiting King's College chapel and hearing the choral singers. We had so much fun,” said Sayre.
For her undergraduate degree she moved back to the states and the “other Cambridge” to attend MIT, which is where her competitive rowing career began. When it was time for post-graduate study, the University of Cambridge and The Boat Race called her back. It was her number one choice. She went on to earn her MPhil in Engineering at Wolfson and then completed a PhD in Materials Science at Emmanuel.
Her advice to the rowers training to compete on April 4, 2026, reflects empathy and wisdom.
“Enjoy it as much as you can, even the parts that are stressful. Go easy on yourself. You're going to make mistakes. That's part of the process.” For her, she said, rowing was a core formative experience. “It helped shape who I am, and it shapes everyone who gets to experience the sport. We come to rowing because we’re slightly obsessed with it, and I don’t think that ever really leaves you.”