Keeping Boat Race crews warm

A former British rower today told how a life-threatening illness inspired her to design the official kit for Saturday’s Boat Race.

Kate Giles was in training to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics when she contracted pneumonia.

After being forced to stop training for six months, she decided to launch a quick-drying clothing range for cold weather.

Miss Giles, 41, from Putney, chief executive of Crewroom, said: “I was in a cotton T-shirt and, because I was training hard, my immune system was quite low. At the time, there were very few technical materials that would protect the athlete in the conditions we get in London.”