The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 12 st 8.875 lb (80.0 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Oxford's crew included four rowers with Boat Race experience, including P. C. Mallam and Guy Oliver Nickalls who were both participating in their third consecutive event. Nickalls was a silver medallist in the men's eight at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Cambridge's crew included three rowers who had represented the university in the previous year's race: K. N. Craig, B. G. Ivory and David Collet. Two of the participants in the race were registered as non-British: Cambridge's Kane and Mellen were from the United States.