Boat Race 2014: Oxford University’s Karl Hudspith haunted by his own Muamba moment

 
Nik Simon31 March 2014

The disturbing images of Fabrice Muamba collapsing at White Hart Lane were fresh in the memory of Oxford University’s Karl Hudspith when his crew-mate, Alex Woods, fell unconscious at the end of the 2012 Boat Race.

Less than three weeks separated the two incidents and Hudspith feared Woods was dead when medics lifted him out of the losing boat at the finish line in Mortlake.

Woods’s collapse was down to a mixture of dehydration, lactic acid build-up and cold conditions but fortunately he recovered, as did then Bolton midfielder Muamba. The events of that Boat Race had a lasting effect on Hudspith, who on Sunday will compete in his fourth and final Boat Race.

“It took a long time to get over that race and all the stuff that happened,” said 26-year-old Hudspith.

“We were pretty crushed after losing and then you’re thinking one of your friends has died. The medics were all working on him and, judging by their faces, it looked pretty bad. One of them looked up at me and shook their head. I thought: ‘Oh Christ, he’s dead’. A few weeks previously, Fabrice Muamba had collapsed on the pitch and almost died. The first thing that goes through your head is: ‘Oh God, is it the same thing?’ It was a horrible experience.”

That haunting afternoon did not spell the end of Hudspith’s rowing career, as he made a winning return to The BNY Mellon Boat Race last year. This weekend — in front of 250,000 spectators along the riverbanks between Putney and Mortlake — he hopes to record his third victory in four years as an Oxford Dark Blue.

Oxford boast three Olympians — Constantine Louloudis, Malcolm Howard and Storm Uru — in their boat but Cambridge, while inexperienced, have the advantage of a heavier crew.

“We don’t read much into the weight at all,” said Hudspith. “We’ve had big wins when we’ve been a lot lighter.

“Weight is good only if it comes from having a lot of muscle and power. Maybe one of the Oxford guys was sucking up his gut at the weigh in!

“We’ve got four guys back from last year’s crew and they know what it takes to go the distance. There’s no one in the Cambridge boat with that kind of experience, or the experience of going to the Olympics. They probably see themselves as underdogs but we can’t take anything for granted.”

Having Olympic medalists in the boat is helping Hudspith’s own international ambitions. He is targeting the Rio Games in 2016 and his crew-mates have been happy to share their wisdom.

“I’d like to row for two more years and hopefully get to Rio,” said Hudspith. “It’s nice to push yourself against the Olympic guys in training.

“Malcolm Howard turned up with an Olympic gold and silver medal. He’d lift weights in the gym and I’d try to do the same — it does drive you on.”

While Olympic ambitions loom large for Hudspith, this week is all about the Boat Race. It may be his fourth and final appearance in the showpiece event but there is no sign of complacency.

A cordial etiquette is normally associated with the Boat Race but Hudspith broke all formalities when he squared up to his opposite man, Ivo Dawkins, at the weigh in. “I thought I’d spice it up a bit,” said Hudspith. “In the past it’s all been a bit dull and boring.

“There’s talk about our perceived advantage but we don’t want to fall into a trap of complacency. Things like that make it feel like a scrap. It all helps.”

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. The Company is the proud sponsor of the BNY Mellon Boat Race

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