Donegal crews strike gold at dragon boat regatta season finale weekend

Donegal Dragons and youth crew Donegal Dolphins and the Irish Dragon Boat Association season finale regatta at Lough Rinn, Leitrim

placeholder image — Donegal Dragons and youth crew Donegal Dolphins and the Irish Dragon Boat Association season finale regatta at Lough Rinn, Leitrim

Senior and junior crews were victorious, claiming gold in their categories

Crews from Donegal had much to celebrate after day one of racing at the Irish Dragon Boat Association (IDBA)'s final regatta of the season.

The opening day of the two-day event saw dragon boat paddlers gather from all around Ireland, and from as far afield as Germany and Canada.

Saturday's 200m races consisted of three heats, with the best two times of each crew deciding the places in the final.

With an all-female crews, Donegal Dragons were racingn in the highly competitive women's category. They consistently clocked the fastest category times in the heats, qualifying for the final alongside Athy Dragon Hearts and Shannon Dragons.

It was a hard-fought race with no crew conceding an inch. They crossed the line so closely together that only one hooter sounded - there is usually one per boat.

The crews had a tense wait to see the final rankings as it was too close to call for crews and spectators. Finally, after the open (mixed) final had taken place, the results were announced. There was only 0.5 of a second separating all three crews. Shannon Dragons finished third, Athy Dragon Hearts finished second, and just 0.28 of a second ahead were Donegal Dragons.

It was an emotional first IDBA regatta win for the crew who have come heart-breakingly close on a number of occasions in equally close races.

And there were double celebrations as the club's junior crew, Donegal Dolphins, won the junior category, clocking up times that matched or were faster than many of the adult crews.

Chairperson of the IDBA was full of praise for Donegal Dolphins, saying: "They could show a lot of adult crews a few things about dragon boat racing."

Racing continues for the senior crew on Sunday as they take part in the women's 500m races, bringing an end to an exciting and successful dragon boat regatta season.