Phl paddlers make waves in Poland

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine dragon boat team that vied in the recent ICF World Dragon Boat Championships in Poland did more than just win the gold.

The 27-strong team under the Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation (PCKF) also won the respect and the hearts of their fellow competitors.

“Saludo talaga sila sa amin (They were really awed),” said Medic Manalo, one of the coaches that steered the team to five gold, three silver and three bronze medals.

“Nagulat sila kasi maliliit lang tayo pero nananalo tayo (They were surprised that despite our size we kept winning),” said Manalo in yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Paddlers from Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Italy and the United Stated dwarfed the Filipinos.

“Sa podium nga, kami na ang nasa gitna pero parang pantay pa din sila sa height namin (We stood in the middle of the podium and they were just as tall as us),” said Manalo.

The Philippines finished fourth overall behind Russia (18-8-4), Hungary (8-7-2) and Ukraine (6-4-4) but wound up ahead of Germany (4-4-7) and host Poland (2-5-1) in the final medal standings.

The Pinoys competed in only 12 of 36 events and skipped their final event because the paddlers were already burned out and also due to the very cold weather.

Also coached by Len Escollante and Duchess Co, the PCKF team ruled the junior men’s 500-meter 10-seater, senior men’s 200m 20-seater, junior men’s 200m 10-seater, seniors mixed 200m 10-seater and senior men’s 200m 10 -seater.

One member of the team, Hermy Macaranas, will compete in the two canoe-kayak events (200m and 1000m) of the coming Asian Games in Incheon where there are no dragon boat races.

During the forum, the paddlers said they’re now shifting their focus to the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

“Our target now is the next SEA Games where the strong teams are Indonesia and Myamar. We will target the gold. It will be tough but we will try to win all the events there,” Co added.

Manalo said because of their strong showing in Poland, a couple of teams have sent out invitations to the PCKF headed by Jonne Go.

“They want us to visit their countries. Ituro daw namin sa kanila ang technique namin (They want us to with them share our technique),” said the coach.

He said they will have to think about that.