Ireland Olympian Claire Lambe says she is excited to have been picked in the Cambridge crew for the Women's Boat Race.
The 26-year-old from Cabra in Dublin partnered Sinéad Lynch in the Ireland lightweight double which took sixth in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She will race in the number three seat for Cambridge in the Boat Races on April 2nd.
“It’s pretty exciting,” she told the Irish Times. “We have a very strong team this year.”
Cambridge have been beaten heavily in the two races since the women’s race moved to London in 2015, but they have strengthened their crew this year. All but one member of the Cambridge eight has raced internationally.
“Our strong form was displayed at the Women’s Head of the River last weekend,” Lambe explained. “We finished in second place, only four seconds back from Leander, with two Olympic silver medalists, and world champions, including [Enniskillen woman] Holly Nixon.”
This weekend Lambe’s crew will take on the Britain women’s eight. On Wednesday, they will move to London to prepare for the Boat Race.
Baker, a former Ireland under-23 coach, said: “It’s the best crew we’ve had.”
Lambe rowed with Commercial in Dublin and UCD, where she was an Ad Astra elite athlete scholar. She raced in the Corcoran Cup, the Irish Boat Race, where UCD take on Trinity. This Saturday, her younger sister Eimear Lambe, will row for UCD in the Corcoran Cup.
Claire Lambe is studying in Cambridge for a Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in engineering for sustainable development.
