The 122nd Boat Race, an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames, took place on 20 March 1976 and was won by Oxford by lengths in 16 minutes 58 seconds, the fastest time in the history of the race. The race was umpired by former Cambridge rower Farn Carpmael. It was the first race in the event for which an official weigh-in was held, and featured the heaviest rower ever in Steve Plunkett. Oxford's Isis won the 12th running of the reserve race against Cambridge's Goldie, in a record time of 17 minutes 37 seconds. In the 31st Women's Boat Race, Oxford defeated Cambridge. Background The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a "hotly contested point of honour" between the two universities. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1975 race by lengths, and led overall with 68 victories to Oxford's 52 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The umpire for the race was Farn Carpmael, who had rowed for Cambridge in the 1930 and 1931 races. The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race. By invitation from the Oxford boat club president Graham Innes, Oxford were coached by Dan Topolski (who had rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1967 and 1968 races) while Cambridge were led by Czechoslovakian former international rower Bohumil Janoušek (more commonly known as Bob Janousek). Preparations during the week before the race were underwhelming for both crews. Oxford's performance against a University of London crew was described by Jim Railton of The Times as "abysmal" while Cambridge "disgraced themselves"