You've been chosen!

You've been chosen!

The Oxford University Boat Club president and stroke Matthew Smith said "It feels fantastic and I think it will take a while to top this feeling".[43] He went on to say: "We have got an awesome bunch of guys in this squad ... but I have such respect for Cambridge ... with a lighter crew we've turned round the biggest weight deficit in history."[35][44] Nethercott remarked "I really thought we had lost. In the space of a few seconds I went from the lowest point in my life to absolute, unbridled ecstasy."[45] The Cambridge oarsman James Livingston said "It was the worst margin to lose by. I just wish I could stop losing these epic races" while the Cambridge coach Williams described the defeat as a "blow to the heart".[43] Wooge was disappointed: "I pull my hat off to Oxford, that was an amazing race."[36] Rankov later revealed "It's the hardest I've ever had to work in an umpiring situation."[46] The five-time Olympic gold medallist Steve Redgrave, who presented the trophy to the victorious president, Matthew Smith,[47] commented on the race: "Remember that race and cling on to the memory, because it will be the greatest we will see in any of our lifetimes."[48] An estimated 400 million people worldwide watched the event on television,[48] with over 5 million viewers watching on BBC One in the United Kingdom.[49] The race is retold in the book Blood Over Water, authored by opposing brothers James and David Livingston.[50] Martin Cross, writing in The Guardian, said the race provided "a thrilling finish and renewed interest from the public",[17] Christopher Dodd in The Independent called the race "stupendous, a titanic struggle of will",[44] while Rachel Quarrell of The Daily Telegraph declared Oxford's victory as "epic" and suggested that "there will never be a better Boat R