Dubai: A Dubai-based all-Filipino dragon boat team representing the UAE beat all the odds to be crowned overall champions at the third International Dublin Dragon Boat Regatta on Sunday.
The Dubai Marlins Dragon Boat Team paddled their way to victory twice at the Grand Canal Dock, Ringsend, in Dublin, beating five other international crews from the UK, Italy, and Germany.
The 22-member crew bagged the gold prize for both the 200 and 400-metre races, making them the overall champions for the competition.
“We are all elated at winning the race. This is our first international competition and it makes us really proud to represent the UAE and the Philippines,” Gemma Mondragon, 43, one of the pioneer members of the team, told Gulf News.
“We came from Dubai with a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. When we reached Ireland, it was really cold at nine degrees. But the love of the sport and the motivation to bring home the gold was stronger kept us going,” she added.
Although just four months old, Dubai Marlins have grown from 10 members to 43. All the members, aged between 23 and 40, are either employed full-time or engaged in business in Dubai, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.
Mondragon said she was pleased that their three months of intensive training in between their busy work schedules had paid off. “We would train every single day, even on weekends, at 5am to 6.30am at Dubai Festival City marina area. Then in the afternoon we’d do land training again for 45 minutes.”
“Dragon boat racing as a sport has been in the country for 10 years but most of the teams are composed of other nationalities. Since this sport originated from the Far East, we wanted to showcase how Asians can excel at the sport,” Mondragon said.
