The PH dragon boat team took home a sweeping win with six gold medals and two overall champion awards in the 200-and 400-meter distances
The Philippine dragon boat team SAG-1 outlasted Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to claim gold medals in the 200- and 400-meter distances in the women’s small boat (12-seater), mixed standard boat (22-seater), and open small boat (12-seater) events at the fourth Guam Thanksgiving Day Dragon Boat Festival on Nov. 23 and 24 in Guam.
In the women’s 200- and 400-meter small boat (12-seater) categories, the Philippine SAG-1 paddlers clocked in a cumulative time of 2:25:54 and 5:30.04 respectively. Meanwhile, Guam’s team nabbed second place in the 200-meter category with a time of 2:28.07 while Hong Kong pocketed silver in the 400-meter event at 5:44.61
“We were overwhelmed with the results, but I also believe that the two months of hard training by the team led us to victory,” says SAG-1 Dragon Boat team captain Michael Lara
The Philippines also won in the mixed 200- and 400-meter standard (22-seater) races with a total time of 2:02.46 and 4:41.27 respectively. The teams from Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong placed right after.
Lastly, the Pinoy athletes ruled in the finals of the open small boat (12-seater) in both 200- and 400-meter categories, nosing out the Hong Kong team (1:03.53) in the 200-meter race at 1:02.03 and, in the 400-meter event, beating the Guam unit (2:23.85) at 2:20.32.
“We were overwhelmed with the results, but I also believe that the two months of hard training by the team led us to victory,” says SAG-1 Dragon Boat team captain Michael Lara.
Lara also mentioned the benefits of the sport as it continues to inspire and encourage more Filipinos, especially because SAG-1 is comprised mainly of working professionals who carve out time during weekends to train with the team.
“Dragon boat promotes the value of working as one solid unit to achieve a common goal, no matter how challenging it may be. As we apply this during training, we hope that it also translates to the paddlers’ lives outside the boat, in their homes, community, and society,” added Lara.
Catch the dragon boat team in their next tournament at Philippine Canoe-Kayak Dragonboat Federation (PCKDF) Club Crew Challenge Series 4 happening on Dec. 15 in Malawaan Park, Subic.