Thailand’s rowers put in a dominant display to put the nation at the top of the medals table in the recently completed 14th IDBF World Dragon Boat Race Championships.
The colorful 5-day event took place at Mabprachan Reservoir in Pattaya from August 21-25 and featured over 3,500 male and female athletes from 30 countries, making it the largest dragon boat contest in the world.
Race categories included Standard and Small Boat, Open, Mixed, Senior and Junior levels, and all distances from 500 meters up to 2,000 meters.
The host nation won a grand total of 95 medals over the course of the 5 days, including 59 gold, 26 silver, and 10 bronze, enabling Thailand to claim the overall top honors for the first time in the history of the event. Local organizers hope the successful showing of the home rowers will help lift the profile of longboat racing in the kingdom and beyond.