8 June 2026

By Göran R Buckhorn

The 159th Harvard-Yale Regatta, which was held on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut, on Saturday, 6 June, ended up like last year’s event – a clean sweep for Harvard.

The regatta actually began on Friday night with the 4V racing from Mamacoke Hill to Bartlett’s Cove. The two-mile race was won by the Crimson in a time of 9:43.4. Yale was 13 seconds behind.

The first race on Saturday was for the 3V racing the same distance as 4V. The Bulldogs didn’t stand a ghost of a chance and Harvard cruised over the finish line in a time of 8:58.8, nearly 23 seconds ahead of Yale.

An unprecedented thing happened in the 2V three-mile race when it was stopped halfway after the wake of a boat unaffiliated with the regatta made it difficult for the crews to row. The race was restarted with Harvard in an almost two boat length lead. The Crimson easily won the race with 10.5 seconds. No official time was clocked for this race.

Both 1V crews got a flying start under the Gold Star Bridge and while Yale had a slight lead, they were soon passed by Harvard and never managed to catch up on the Crimson crew during the four-mile race. Harvad crossed the finish line at Bartlett’s Cove in 18:32.4.

Charley Butt’s Crimson crew will now go to Henley Royal Regatta, which is between Tuesday, 30 June and Sunday, 5 July.

Results
1V (4 Miles)
1. Harvard – 18:32.4
2. Yale – 18.47.9

2V (3 Miles)
1. Harvard – No Time
2. Yale – No Time

3V (2 Miles)
1. Harvard – 8:58.8
2. Yale – 9:19.7

4V (2 Miles)
1. Harvard – 9:43.4
2. Yale – 9:56.5

For those interested in some statistics, out of the 36 Harvard oarsmen and four female coxes, 12 were Americans and 24 came from abroad.

Series Records
1V (Sexton Cup): Harvard leads 98–60 (1 no result)
2V (F. Valentine Chappell Trophy): Harvard leads 79–43
3V (New London Cup): Harvard leads 78–42–1
4V/Combination (Snider Cup): Harvard leads 19-9