A Newnham graduate student has been named as a member of the Blue Boat for this year’s Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
Anna Dawson is studying in Cambridge thanks to a studentship set-up in the name of Anna Watkins, Olympic gold medallist and Newnham graduate, to financially support women who excel in rowing.
Dawson arrived in Cambridge in 2016 after studying in Stanford University where she was awarded ‘Stanford’s Most Valuable Rower’ prize for two years consecutively (2013 and 2014).
She also won a gold and silver in the world Junior Championships (2008 and 2011 respectively) and three All-American Athlete awards (2011, 2013 and 2014).
The MPhil Education student is originally from New Zealand and said she was attracted to Cambridge because of the ‘challenge, excitement and excellence’.
She has been rowing since 2005 and she is a member of Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club’s 2017 squad. The crews for the 2017 Boat Race were announced today.
The hotly contested clash between Cambridge and Oxford will take place on the Tideway at 4.35pm on Sunday, April 2.
Dawson is pictured at the very back of the Cambridge (light blue) crew.
Dawson studying in the library at Newnham