The cheers that broke out at the Cambridge Boat Club 15 minutes into the Women’s Championship Singles were deafening. Newton’s own Gevvie Stone, bow number one in the race, was speeding around the bend, sustaining the marked interval between her and bow number three Kim Crow.

Four minutes later – four minutes, six seconds and 88 hundredths of a second, to be precise – Stone crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 19:06.88, to win her fourth Head Of The Charles title, leaving two Olympic medalist in her wake. Double London medalist Kim Crow of Austrialia was second, a little over 13 seconds back, and 2009 Championship Singles winner Ursula Grobler of South Africa took third with a time of 19:31.34. Olympic gold medalist Miraslava Knapkova was fifth.

After accepting her fourth Cambridge Boat Club Plate at Saturday night’s awards ceremony, Stone said the cheering she heard along the way was invigorating.

“There was a lot of noise out there and it was awesome. I’m lucky to have that support, ” she said. “And the cheers make me conscious. Like, ‘OK, people know me. I’d better look good. Better look like I’m pulling hard.’”

Rowing her home course gave Stone a great advantage, she acknowledged. Along with the support of her boat club, a familiarity with the Charles’s nuances boosted her confidence on the water.

“I steered maybe my best race ever, ” she said. “That helped me a lot. I just went out there to try to have fun and try to haul on it and yeah, go as hard as I could.”

But Stone has faced some disadvantages too. Despite her experience with the course, her schedule in medical school has left her with minimal practice time.

“I started med school eight weeks ago and I’ve been in the hospital about 12 hours a day, five days a week and a few weekend days, ” she explained. “I mean I was training a lot through the end of August. So I think I had that base that fortunately I was able to do a little bit of leaning back on.”

Stone will join forces with Crow and Knapkova Sunday as the Women’s Great Eight team in the Championship Eights.

“It was fun to have Kim and Mirka row and we get to row again tomorrow, ” Stone said. “The girls are amazing. We’ve had a lot of fun practicing and during team dinners. So we expect to have a lot of fun tomorrow too.”

With the cheers, the familiarity and the friendships, the race was a highlight of the Regatta that, for Stone, is among the most fun events of the year.

“Being on your home course, with so much support and knowing the turns is an incredible experience, ” she said. “It’s always one of my favorite weekends of the year, if not my favorite weekend of the year.”