The 142nd Boat Race took place on 6 April 1996. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Umpired by a former Blue, Mike Sweeney, Cambridge won by 2+3⁄4 lengths in the second-fastest time in the history of the race. In the reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie defeated Oxford's Isis in a record time, while Cambridge won the Women's Boat Race.