 The 138th Boat Race took place on 4 April 1992 . 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 . Oxford 's cox Andrew Probert was the oldest competitor in Boat Race history at the age of 38 years and 86 days . Oxford won by one @-@ and @-@ a @-@ quarter lengths , the closest margin of victory for twenty years . The race also featured the first German competitor in the history of the event in Dirk Bangert . Umpired by former Cambridge rower Roger Stephens , Mike Rosewell writing in The Times described the race as " one of the greatest races since 1829 " . 
