Rebecca on brink of history

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To achieve that, however, she will have to match the calm she showed last year after being called up at two weeks' notice.

"You have to be very flexible and visualise a lot of different scenarios," said the 24-year-old postgraduate student of Anglo Saxon, only the 13th woman to participate in the race. "You have to react to a certain extent to what the other crew are doing.

"Last year I was switched into the crew with two weeks to go, so I was training like a demon. This year has been a bit more conventional. It's a different crew and I am the only person who has survived. Oxford are favourites because the statistics say the heavier crew wins but I don't think it means that much."

At just under five feet, Dowbiggin is dwarfed by her Light Blues crew but is undaunted by that or the fact she is the lone woman.

"I enjoy it," she said. "We [women] are rare. I wouldn't say it's intimidating, though they are physically a lot bigger than me. They respect my role in the race."

The Cambridge crew are boosted by two Australians and an American, while the multi-national Oxford boat will contain only two Brits. The Dark Blues also boast the oldest rower in the race's history, 36-year-old Michael Wherley, and the heaviest man on either team, 16st 2lb Toby Medaris.

Duncan Holland, Cambridge's New Zealand coach, believes the race's tradition is undiminished. This will be the 154th Boat Race and he said: "It's not losing its appeal. It's a London ritual."