Stunning win by long shot dragon boat squad

BEKASI, West Java—The Philippine dragon boat squad, a gold-medal long shot, surpassed expectations by nipping regional power Myanmar for a breakthrough victory Sunday in the 26th Southeast Asian Games’ traditional boat race in Lake Cipule here.

The 22-man Filipino crew held off a spirited charge by the Burmese to win the 1,000-meter event, clocking one-minute and 53.95 seconds. Myanmar timed 1:54.12 with Thailand bagging the bronze in 1:56.20.

“This (victory) is overwhelming because it more than exceeded our expectations,” Jonne Go, the canoe/kayak federation secretary general, said. “This is sweet vindication for these athletes who have worked so hard despite the pressure they had to face back home.”

The Filipinos were given little chance of winning here after the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation refused to field the members of the team that won four golds and two silvers in the recent world championship due to a dispute with the Philippine Olympic Committee.

The men’s 10-man crew also salvaged a silver in the 500m after timing 2:16.30, nearly two seconds behind Myanmar. Indonesia was third in the event in 2:16.8.

The women’s team, though, fell a tad short and settled for fourth in the 500m, 12-crew finals in 2:29.4. Indonesia bagged the bronze in 2:28.62 with Myanmar again prevailing in 2:26.8 and Thailand the silver in 2:28.5.

The Filipino contingent has so far won one gold, a silver and two bronze medals after the third-place finish in the men’s 1,000m 12-crew was upheld by the appeals jury Sunday morning.