Surrey twins to face off in Oxford and Cambridge boat race

Catherine (left) and Gemma King will be competing for opposing teams in this year’s Oxford and Cambridge boat race

Twin sisters are to compete in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race on opposing teams.

Catherine and Gemma King, from Bagshot, Surrey, are studying for PhDs at the rival universities.

The 24-year-old's said their parents will be supporting both teams and may wear hats and t-shirts with both Cambridge's light blue and Oxford's dark blue colours.

The pair will take part in the 78th women's Gemini Boat Race on 30 March.

'Really proud'

Catherine and Gemma are used to competing side by side, having rowed together since the age of 12.

They had both competed in the race for Cambridge since 2018, but Catherine has since moved to Oxford to begin studying for a PhD in cardiovascular science.

"We are both very competitive and we obviously want to win, but at the end of the day, the boat race is so much more than who wins or who loses," Gemma, who is studying stem cell biology, said.

"No matter what happens, I'm going to be really proud to be racing for Cambridge and proud of Catherine for racing for Oxford - but obviously we'd like to win."

While their teams are set to go head-to-head, the pair said it was likely they will not race directly against each other, with Gemma due to compete in the first boat and Catherine in the second boat following an injury.

However, Catherine said their parents, Mike and Liz King, will support them no matter which race the pair feature in.

"They've joked about getting half-and-half hats, but I think at this point it might be more than a joke," she said.

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