The 137th Boat Race took place on 30 March 1991. 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, whose crew contained one of only two men to have rowed for both universities, won by 4+1⁄4 lengths.

The 136th Boat Race took place on 31 March 1990. 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 won by 2+1⁄4 lengths. The race featured the heaviest oarsman ever to have rowed in the event in Oxford's Chris Heathcote, and the lightest Cambridge crew for nearly 30 years.