Proving it is a class above the rest – even against the well-funded teams from first world – the Philippine Dragon Boat team, which includes 11 soldier-athletes among its members, won the gold medal in the Premier Open 1,000-meter (Small boat) event of the 10th International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) World Dragon Boat Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida, United States on Friday.
Twelve Filipino athletes on a short canoe paddled furiously from start to finish dumping all oppositions, clocking four minutes and 59.79 seconds in the first round in a performance that awed their rivals.
Toughened by their desire to rise above the challenge despite little support from the government, they did even better in the second round by submitting a time of 4:57.13 to capture the coveted mint in Tampa Bay, Florida.
Army Maj. Harold Cabunoc, the team manager, said in an update that “We won our first gold medal (1,000-meter men’s event), Small Boat division on Aug. 4, 2011 at 12:45 p.m.”
“When we say ‘small boat’ it means there are only ten paddlers, plus the drummer and the steersman,” he added.
Cabunoc said the men’s team is composed of the following trooper-athletes: seven from the Army, one from the Air Force, one from the Navy, and three from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
He added that the group’s steersman is Chief Ruperto Sabijon, a retired PCG personnel, while the boat captain is Sergeant Usman Anterola of the Army.
The standard boat race consists of a full team of 22 people, including 20 paddlers, a drummer, and a steer-person.
It was an awe-inspiring victory for the Philippine squad, which continued to train regularly in the Manila Bay for its preparation despite getting no financial support from the government.
“We set the 1,000-meter Men’s Event World Record for the first time with the fastest time of four minutes and 57 seconds. The first heat was set at 4:59 seconds,” according to Cabunoc.
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