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Philippine Team bags the overall championship in the 2024 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships
The Philippine Dragon Boat Team bagged the overall championship in the recently concluded 2024 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships held in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan from October 27 to Sunday, November 3.
In front of a lively hometown crowd, the Filipino paddlers added two gold, five silver and two bronze medals for an impressive 11-20-16 overall tally.
The Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand took runner-up honors with eight golds, while the I.N.A (Individual Neutral Athlete) squad was third with a haul of six golds, three silvers and three bronzes in the meet supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Tingog party-list.
The hosts won a hotly-contested masters mixed 20-seater standard boat 500-meter race in two minutes and 6.34 seconds, nosing out Singapore (2:06.73) while Germany was not too far behind in third (2:07.98) in the competition organized by the Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation.
The Filipinos were also runaway winners in the 40+ 20-seater women’s 2,000-meter standard boat event (10:42.31) over runner-up Canada (10:48.64) and took silvers in the 20-seater mixed standard boat 500-meter (1:58.13), 40+ 10-seater mixed 500-meter (2:19.45), 20-seater open (9:23.16) and 40+ 20-seater open 5,000-meter (9:34.47) races.
But the 20-seater mixed standard 500-meters was the most thrilling as the hosts virtually led from start to finish until they were beaten in the last 10 meters by the late-charging Ukrainians, who snatched the gold in 1:57.51.
They also bagged the last bronze of the day in the 40+ 10-seater open 500-meter (2:15.93) event in the four-day tournament also supported by the Puerto Princesa City government
According to Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation or PCKDF president Leonora "Lenlen" Escollante, they are happy with the country's achievement and they were not disappointed in their hope that it will lead the international competition.
Escollante also appreciates the warm support of the local government of Puerto Princesa in holding this type of international sporting events, as well as the hospitality of Filipinos to foreign visitors participating in the competition.
Photo courtesy: Palawan News
"I am very glad that our staging of this world championships yielded the main goal that our national team was aiming for by clinching the overall title right here on our shores at that. This honor is not only for the PCKF, our paddlers but also for the country. We practically made history every day so I am very proud of our national paddlers and how we organized this big event sanctioned by the International Canoe Federation. said Escollante.
ICF Dragon Boat Commission chairman Dr. Wai Hung-Luk of Hong Kong called the event "world-class."
"All we got was positive feedback from the countries who took part in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships. The participants were also impressed by the warm hospitality shown … and expressed their desire to come back again here," Dr. Wai Hung-Luk.
The next staging of the biennial global dragon boat competition will be held in Regina, Canada in 2026.
