London athletes part of dominant Canadian team at World Dragon Boat Racing Championships

Jack Sutton · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 16, 2025 3:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

This is the archetypal twelvemonth that bosom crab survivors are competing successful their ain part astatine the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships successful Brandenburg, Germany and the Canadian squad won 2 golden medals connected the archetypal time of racing. 

Ten members of the Canadian Breast Cancer Paddler (BCP) team, on with their coach, Cheryl McLachlin, are members of Rowbust—-the London Dragon Boat Club's BCP squad that trains connected Fanshawe Lake. On Monday, they competed successful the 2000 metre races for modular and tiny boat, winning archetypal successful both.  

"To ticker the athletes permission the dock for the archetypal clip successful a satellite division, tally a cleanable contention and excel to golden was amazing," she said. "Then to ticker them equine up onto the podium successful that golden presumption and bask our anthem arsenic our emblem went up the pole…amazing" 

The contented of BCP teams began present successful Canada. The archetypal squad was formed successful Vancouver successful 1995 by Dr. Don MacKenzie, a sports medicine doc researching the carnal and societal benefits of paddling for bosom crab survivors. Since then, it has go fashionable worldwide with implicit 300 teams crossed astir 40 countries. 

Despite the increasing fig of BCP teams, they person ne'er been capable to participate a nationalist squad astatine the satellite championships.  The propulsion for inclusion had been ongoing since astir 2009, McLachlan said. 

"This is the signifier we wanted to beryllium on," she said.  

The Forest City is good represented connected the team. Besides McLachlan arsenic coach, determination are 8 paddlers, on with 1 steersperson and 1 drummer from London's Rowbust. Linda Kuska, 1 of the paddlers, has been a subordinate of Rowbust for 26 years. When the accidental arose to effort retired for the nationalist team, determination was nary hesitation, she said. 

"You've got to bash it portion you can, and I really, truly wanted to beryllium portion of this inaugural team." 

"And it was an astonishing experience. Being a 62-year-old bosom crab subsister athlete, I ne'er thought that I would spot this benignant of contention successful my competitory career." 

Overall, the Canadian teams won 13 gold, 9 metallic and 5 bronze medals connected the archetypal day, with athletes from The London Dragon Boat Club besides paddling connected the Senior A, Senior B, U18 and Para teams. The championships proceed done Sunday, and the BCP squad is feeling energized, McLachlan said. 

"We truly person to support our ft connected the state tomorrow," she said. "But I consciousness bully close now." 

"We can't suffer show of what our extremity is," added Kuska. "We'll instrumentality it 1 time astatine a time, 1 hr astatine a time, and get retired connected that h2o and bash our best."