Olympic silver medal rowers Cameron Girdlestone and Alexander Belonogoff helped Sydney University retain the men's Australian Boat Race title against Melbourne University in rough conditions on Sydney Harbour.
Battling strong winds and waves on the 4.3km course, the Sydney crew won decisively on Sunday to extend their advantage to 6-1 in the race record books.
"I thought Rio had the toughest conditions Sasha and I had ever faced, but this took the cake," said Girdlestone, who won silver alongside Belonogoff in the quadruple scull in Rio .
"To give them credit, Melbourne really stuck it to us.
"It was more like a race of survival than a race of the fittest and strongest. "
Led by Rio Olympic rowers Sarah Banting and Jennifer Cleary, the University of Melbourne women's eight maintained their unbroken record with a seventh consecutive win over their Sydney University counterparts.
"Jen and I were having a laugh saying we've had a bit of experience with rough and rolling waters," said Banting.
"We put a little bit of pressure on ourselves, but the wind and cold we get all the time down in Melbourne, so we were probably more in our natural habitat than the Sydneysiders."
The annual Australian Boat Race alternates between Sydney Harbour and Melbourne's Yarra River.
