The Philippine Army (PA) Dragon Boat Warriors bagged the gold medal in the 200-meter paddling event during the 11th Korea Open Busan International Dragon Boat Festival held in Suyeong River in Busan, South Korea, on September 1.

With a 51.294-second record in the 200-meter small boat category, the all-army boat crew dominated the Premiere Open, leading them to compete in the 300-meter event.

As the Philippine team competed in the 300-meter category, it grabbed another gold after clocking a 1:12:547 record.

The PA Dragon Boat Warriors was followed by Dubai’s Classics Dragon Boat Team and Ching Fung Dragon.

According to PA Spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad, this is the Army Dragon Warriors’ first win at the Busan tilt.

He added that the Army leadership recognized the PA Dragon Warriors for their dedication during the preparation and for giving their best shot during the Dragon Boat Festival, resulting in their bringing home the gold medal in the said category.

The Dragon Boat Festival is an annual paddling competition attended by teams from different countries.

For this year’s event, 16 teams joined the competition from the Philippines, United States, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan, Guam, Malaysia, Qatar, China, Canada, and Hong Kong.