Different strokes: Channel 4 steps up for debut as Boat Races get makeover

Races have left the BBC as Oxford’s women, led by Olympic medallist Heidi Long, seek to end long wait for victory

Channel 4 has screened plenty of elite sport since launching in 1982. Test cricket, the Tour de France, the Paralympics and even, for those with long memories, Masters golf in the mid-80s.

Traditionally regarded as the most progressive and forward-thinking terrestrial TV channel, on Saturday a new string will be added to its sporting bow: the Boat Races, part of the English calendar since 1829.