Gemma King has been a stalwart of the Light Blue women’s squad for seven years, and is stepping up to lead the Cambridge women for The Boat Race 2026. She explained why she stood for President and how she will try to continue the high standards that have been set over the last eight years, with Cambridge winning every Women’s Boat Race since 2017.

This will be your eighth year rowing with CUBC. What have been your most memorable experiences in those years?

I can’t not mention all the Boat Races I have done– the Boat Race is such a unique and special event and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. Besides this, some of my most memorable experiences have been times spent with the squad, such as our annual trip to the local inflatable waterpark during preseason!

What keeps pulling you back to trial for a Boat Race every winter?

It might sound cliché, but it has to be the people in the squad. I’ve met people from all over the world and from so many backgrounds, all working together towards a common goal, and have made friends for life through the sport. Rowing also gives me more structure to my day and something else to focus on besides academic work, which I think is very important!

Are you someone who loves doing the miles in the dark at Ely, or do you live for the race days?0

I love racing! Obviously racing is tough, but I love seeing the results of all the hard training pay off and seeing how fast we can make the boat go. The training in the cold, dark winter months can be challenging but it’s all worth it in the end.

How will you lead the squad this year?

I’ve been rowing with CUBC for so long now that I have a good understanding of how the season works and what works well. I want to continue the CUBC legacy, creating a competitive but supportive and fun environment. I hope to be approachable and listen to the opinions of everyone in the squad to make us as strong a unit as possible.

How do CUBC women continue to get better?

We all completely trust in the process and the programme set by the coaches, supporting each other and pushing each other on every year to keep trying to find more boat speed. Our goal is simply to be as fast as we can on Boat Race day – we can’t change the speed of our competitors so we just focus on how we can make ourselves faster and make the most out of every session.

You did the coin toss on Boat Race day in 2025. How did that feel?

I was honoured to be asked to do the coin toss. Just before it, Sir Matthew Pinsent said to me ‘just flip it in the air so it lands on the carpet in front and preferably doesn’t go down the slope (although I will still run after it if it does)’ – suddenly I thought what if I really mess this up! Luckily it landed on the carpet. We lost the coin toss, and Oxford chose the Surrey station. We always prepare to race on either station so in the interview after when I was asked if we were happy with Middlesex, the answer was genuinely yes! It can make a difference tactically for the cox in terms of steering, but as a rower all we can do is row as well as we can on either station.

Can you sum up the implications of your PhD in one sentence that a lay person could understand?

I’m trying to improve the production of platelets (involved in blood clotting) from stem cells to use for transfusions into patients with low platelet counts, such as those undergoing chemotherapy.