The Mt Warning Dragon Boat Club, which draws its crew from across the northern rivers, went from down under to the top of the word with a medal trifecta at the recent IDBF World Dragon Boat Club Crew Championships in Ravenna, Italy.
The team arrived in Ravenna in early September and had qualified to compete in four categories.
The training regimen for the last 12 months focused on a combination of land and water training and this increased very significantly in April after the club had competed in the state and national championships at Lake Kawana on the Gold Coast.
The team won gold in the Small Boat Senior B Mixed 200 Metres and were exhilarated, as they beat the very competitive Russian team.
The went on to win silver in the Small Boat Senior B Mixed 500 Metres then, bronze in the Small Boat Senior B Women 500 Metre, which was an amazing race. ‘We considered all the races we paddled in were gold medal performances,’ says crew member Geraldine Lockyer. ‘In the Women’s 200-metre race, we were placed fifth with just a dragon’s breath between them all. We came fifth in the world in that one!’
As a small club Mt Warning are all over the moon knowing full well that every member of the team put in 100 per cent and sacrificed time with their families and other commitments to achieve this.
‘The final result has shown that the hard work, dedication and focus had paid off,’ says Geraldine. ‘We are all still stunned at our achievements.’
