Taytay Boys justified their billing as the new national men’s dragonboat team after netting two gold medals in the Philippine National Games held at scenic Taal Lake.
Made up of young paddlers who train in a portion of Pasig River in Taytay, Rizal, the team won the premier 500-meter men’s open standard boat with a time of one minute and 45.12 seconds.
Taytay bested Philippine Army (1:49.08), Philippine Marines (1:49.98) and Philippine Navy (1:52.02).
It also won the top plum in men’s 24-under 500m while the Taytay Girls claimed the women’s 500m.
Taytay Boys clocked 2:21.95 in men’s 24-under to finish ahead of Sagwan Tanauan (2:25.78), Iloilo Team (2:27.83) and Adamson (2:31.51).
In women’s 500m, Taytay Girls crossed the finish line in 2:34.05, while Philippine Marines (2:34.89) and Pyres (2:45.74) wound up second and third, respectively.
Already, Philippine Canoe/Kayak Federation president Joone Go said they will gather funds to send the Taytay Boys to the World Championships in Poland set Aug. 28 to 31.
The paddlers will also be groomed to represent the country in next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.