 Cambridge were coached by J. R. F. Best , James Crowden ( who rowed twice for Cambridge , in the 1951 and 1952 races ) , Charles Lloyd ( a three @-@ time Blue , rowing in the 1949 , 1950 and 1951 races ) and Harold Rickett ( who rowed in the 1930 , 1931 and 1932 races ) . Oxford 's coaches were Jumbo Edwards ( who rowed for Oxford in the 1926 and 1930 races ) , Ronnie Howard ( who represented Oxford in the 1957 and 1959 races ) and Antony Rowe ( who had rowed in the 1948 and 1949 races ) . Although the Cambridge crew were favourites on their arrival at Putney , and were reckoned to be " one of the best Boat Race crews for ten years " , their early performances in practice did not impress the critics . However , in their final row before the race , Cambridge took four seconds off the record time from the Mile Post to Putney Bridge , covering the distance in 4 minutes 6 seconds . 
