Tourek Helps Cambridge Defeat Oxford Rowers

The 119th race between Oxford and Cambridge will rank as one of the memorable experiences for Steve Tourek '70, captain of Dartmouth's heavyweight crew in 1970 who is now studying law at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Tourek pulled the seven oar for the Cambridge crew that forgot its underdog role and overwhelmed Oxford by more than a dozen lengths in the four and one-half mile race on the Thames in mid-April. He . was the lone American in the Cambridge shell.

"... the most fantastic experience of my life," said Tourek, a member of Dartmouth's heavy eight that rowed at Henley in 1970 after winning all of its cup races. "The only better experience was the birth of my son" (an event that occurred while Tourek was competing at Henley in 1970).

What made the victory more cherished for Tourek, who was an assistant dean at Dartmouth following graduation, is that it represented "the next best thing to beating Harvard. They were the only crew that we didn't beat while I was rowing at Dartmouth. The Oxford stroke was Dave Sawyer, captain of Harvard's crew last year. "They don't normally bet shirts in the Oxford-Cambridge race but I got together with Dave on a shirt bet."

It's a dark blue Oxford shirt but for the moment Steve Tourek is color blind. It looks like Crimson to him.