The Boat Race 1982 fellow at St Hugh's was persuaded back into the crew by the Oxford boat club president Nick Conington. Rankov was rowing in his fifth consecutive Boat Race, alongside Steve Foster whom he supervised in classics. Oxford's crew also contained the Clay twins, Robert and Hugh. River conditions were calm: Jim Railton of "The Times" described the course as "a smooth and flat Queen's highway from Putney to Mortlake." Michael Muir-Smith was the umpire for the race, for which Oxford were "heavily favoured". They won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station. A good start from the Light
Putney all those branches of science and learning which are adapted to the advanced state of society, and constitute an education that fits the student for any pursuit or profession. Putney had a second place of worship for Independents, and Roehampton was in the process of achieving separate parish status. The proprietors of the bridge distributed £31 per annum to watermen, and watermen's widows and children, and the parish received benefit from Henry Smith's and other charities. Putney in 1887 covered . Putney appears in the "Domesday Book" of 1086 as "Putelei". It was noted that it did not fall into