Although Columbia rowers may have rowed in “The Boat Race” as members of Isis or Goldie, the reserve boats, no Lion oarsman is believed to have competed for a Blue boat in at least the past 50 years.

Mike Zimmer, Columbia’s Director Rowing and men’s heavyweight head coach, was ecstatic that Marcovy was chosen to row in The Boat Race.

“I am thrilled,” he said, “that Aaron earned a seat in the Blue boat. He is the fiercest of competitors and possesses a unique work ethic. I know he is excited to be a part of such a tremendous race. He will represent Columbia in the finest way.”

Marcovy, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, came to Columbia in 2001, following the example of his father, Tim, who was a Lion varsity rower and graduated from Columbia College in 1974.

The strapping 6-foot-5 Aaron Marcovy served as captain of the varsity heavyweights as a junior and senior. He was awarded the William B. Sanford Award as the Columbia heavyweights’ MVP in both seasons, 2004 and 2005.

In 2004, Marcovy rowed in the Varsity Four that earned a silver medal at the IRA National Championships. He was a Dean’s List student in art history and visual art.

At Oxford, Marcovy attends St. Edmund Hall College. He is in the first year of a three-year program leading to a Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Art. He entered Oxford in 2007 and soon began the elimination process that leads to choosing 24-28 athletes by September. Those candidates then begin a series of races over the Boat Race course from which Blue Boats and reserve crews are selected, with the announcement of lineups usually being made in early spring.

Marcovy, who rows in the fourth seat, will be joined in the Oxford Blue by four fellow Americans, including stroke Will England, a 2007 Princeton graduate and member of the United States Under-23 National Team. The Cambridge Blue boat is also stroked by an American, ex-Cornell rower Ryan Monaghan.

On Race Day, more than 250,000 spectators, and millions more watching on television, will watch the 154th running of The Boat Race. It extends for 4.25 miles over a stretch of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake, and can be very unpredictable — not only must the crews row on the “flood” tide, against the stream, but with the flow of the tide, but the course is marked by three classic bends.

Oxford won the first race, in 1829, but Cambridge leads the series, 79-73, with one dead heat, in 1877. Cambridge is the defending champion, having won in 2006 and 2007, after Oxford had been victorious the previous two years.

This year’s Oxford Blue is one of the largest ever, averaging 6-4.25 inches and 15 stone, 6 pounds (216 pounds) per rower. The Oxford rowers, coach Sean Bowden said, are “quiet and serious ... They know we lost last year, and they’re very focused.”