She may be small in stature, but Zoe de Toledo is about to record a giant achievement. The diminutive 24-year-old - she is 5ft tall and weighs under eight stone - will cox the Oxford team in next month's Boat Race.

The Henley-based postgraduate psychology student has previously coxed Great Britain and has competed with her team – the world-famous Leander Rowing Club – at the Henley Royal Regatta.

Ms de Toledo is thought to be the first female and Jewish Boat Race cox and follows in the footsteps of last year's Oxford cox, Sam Winter-Levy.

She said the double Jewish achievement was surprising: "Rowing is not a traditional sport within the community and it is a bit unusual to have a Jewish cox, but maybe it's a role that a Jewish woman is better at doing – ordering men around. My grandmother Sylvia would probably suit the role quite nicely".