Nation lowers dragon boat personal best

JAMAICA posted their best-ever time in dragon boat racing, 1:01.82 minutes, to finish fourth in the mixed 200m final at the fifth Annual Bahamas International Dragon Boat Festival at Goodman’s Bay in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Sunday.

Though falling 1.1 seconds short of retaining the bronze medal they won last year, the 2.46-second gap between Jamaica and winners Royal Bahamas Defence Force Water Defenders was significant for Team Captain Jason McKay, who also competed in a fast first heat of 1:02.43.

“This year’s mixed team’s winning time, 59.36, would have been in contention for a medal at last year’s major open final, signalling how tough the mixed division, which had no major or minor division this year, has become,” McKay said.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Water Defenders’ 59.36 edged Chinook Mojos (1:00.08), last year’s runners-up; Sandragon (1:00.72); and Jamaica (1:01.82), in a thrilling finish separated by dragon heads at the bows of each boat.

Jamaica advanced to the final after clocking 1:02.43 and 1:04.72 in the first and second rounds, respectively, winning both heats on Saturday’s opening day before adding a third heat victory of 1:04.42 during Sunday morning’s session.

McKay said Jamaica’s opening 1:02.43 bettered all the times the team had posted in 2025 when they won bronze.

“Improving your time is what counts in this sport,” McKay said. “We might not have medalled, but it shows we are improving. It is our second year in the sport, it will take time to build, but we must continually reduce the times until we are keeping pace with world standards.”

McKay said nothing short of sub-minute times at Jamaica’s Dragon Boat Festival, June 12-13, will get mixed or open teams to Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) for the International Dragon Boat Federation’s Club Crew World Championships, August 29-September 6.

Denise Romero-Williams captained Jamaica’s mixed team which included Danielle Russell, Neil Yap Sam, Cassandra Russell, Rushaine Tyrell, Richard Stone, Chue-Ping Wong Russell, Ashane Gordon-Morrison, Kashane McFarlene, Zain Chong, Nicholai Reid and Clayton Russell Jr.

Jamaica competed against teams from the United States, Canada and The Bahamas, finishing fourth overall.

“Last year, we won bronze in the major final of the mixed 200m. This year we tried, but with a smaller male squad split between the 500m open. The big, home-based teams concentrate on the open events, whereas our team is stretched over two events,” McKay said.

“It takes a lot of money to outfit a team and to get here, competing against teams from North America that literally have lakes for their backyards, and the bigger Bahamian teams [which are] sponsored by resorts located on the beach,” he said.