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Temple doc coaches world dragon boat champs

The United States Dragon Boat team, coached by Robert McNamara, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine, captured the Nations Cup at the International Dragon Boat Federation's World Championship this year. Photo coutesy of Robert McNamara.

The United States Dragon Boat team, coached by Robert McNamara, MD, Chair of Emergency Medicine, captured the Nations Cup at the International Dragon Boat Federation's World Championship this year.

Photo coutesy of Robert McNamara.

 

Robert McNamara, MD, FAAEM, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Temple University Hospital, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer, Temple University Physicians coached this year’s United States Dragon Boat team, which captured the Nations Cup at the International Dragon Boat Federation’s World Championship held in Sydney, Australia, last month.

 

Team USA won Gold in four individual events--the Men’s 2000 meter, 1000 meter and 500 meter and the Mixed (12 men, 8 women) 500 meter on the way to the team title. The USA victory in the 500 meter Men’s race set a new World Record at 1 minute and 48.7 seconds.


A silver medal in the Mixed 200-Meter event and a pair of fourth-place finishes by the USA women’s team helped secure the point trophy over Team China, the traditional powerhouse of Dragon Boat racing.

 

Dragon Boat racing is a traditional Chinese sport with roots extending back more than 2,000 years.


The original racing of dragon boats was to commemorate the heroic actions of the Chinese warrior poet Qu Yuan in protesting political corruption. Twenty paddlers, a drummer and steersperson occupy a 40-foot shell adorned with a dragon’s head and tail.

 

Based in Philadelphia, the training center for the USA team is the Schuylkill River, and a majority of team members come from the Philadelphia region and the Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association. Although the team has won individual events at the World Championships in prior years, the Nations Cup represents the first-ever team trophy for the USA.

 

“The tradition of excellence in Philly, the extensive experience of the team and the willingness of the PDBA to form a true national team by recruiting and funding the best paddlers from around the country were the keys to success,” said McNamara.

 

McNamara began coaching dragon boat teams in 1986 and spent several years coaching college and high school rowing teams (two national championships). McNamara was a member of the 1984 and 1985 Dragon Boat teams that represented the United States in the Hong Kong international races and remains an active paddler today.

 

Further information on the World Championships and the sport of Dragon Boat
racing can be obtained at www.idbf.org . A video of the World Record setting 500 meter race is available at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8MJUmT6jFQ.


 

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By Eryn Jelesiewicz

dobeck@temple.edu

October 23, 2007