Dubai-based Pinoy team tops dragon boat tilt in Ireland

Filipino dragon boat rowers based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) gave the Philippines honor anew by topping the Dublin International Dragon Boat Regatta.

Despite travel glitches, the Dubai Marlins scored a double victory in the 200- and 400-meter races last September 14 and 15, UAE news site Khaleej Times reported Tuesday.

“After we organized ourselves four months ago, we immediately started to train... paddling daily for one hour at 5 a.m. before work either in the area off Dubai Festival City or Dubai Marina,” said Gemma Mondragon, team events and marketing manager of the Dubai Marlins.

The all-Filipino team beat international veteran teams from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Ireland.

Of the 43-member team, only 22 took part in the event, with 12 of them first-time paddlers, the report added.

The team became the overall champion in the 200-meter race in 43 seconds, two seconds short of the 41-second Filipino team record.

In the 400-meter race, the Marlins clocked 135 seconds, becoming the first ever newly organized team to win the regatta in just four months after inception.

Mondragon said the Marlins carried both the Philippines and UAE flags during the tilt.

First try

Mondragon said the Filipinos' feat impressed the Irish Dragon Boat Association and sponsor Waterways Ireland, with a new team winning internationally in its first try.

Mondragon credited determination, rigid practice and synchronized movements during competitions for the team's success.

The Khaleej Times report said the team also trained at Jumeirah Open Beach for up to an hour each night to build muscles.

“Half of our members are physical fitness trainers, so each one paired with a physical fitness trainer to ensure the exercise was right,” Mondragon said.

Mondragon said the team planned to reach Dublin September 12, but travel glitches caused them to arrive on the 13th, "so we just rested and went straight for the competition the following day.”

The Marlins are now eyeing the October 11 Dragon Boat Competition in Abu Dhabi, where they will go up against 20 veteran teams at the waters off Shangrila Hotel. — KBK, GMA News