By Alexander Dworkowitz
Philadelphia Men’s Dragon Boat Team, the defending champion of the borough’s Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, took the race again this year, easily beating DCH Open and Gum Fung Restaurant to win the 500-meter US Open Championship. The Philadelphians won by a margin of nearly five seconds with a time of 2:24:61.
The Philadelphia Men’s team also won the 1000 meter and 250 meter championship races.
Unlike most entries in the festival, the Philadelphia Men’s group is not from the tri-state area and was labeled “the team to beat” early on in the tournament.
The team took home a $10,000 cash prize, a spokesman for the festival said.
MAD won the 250 meter Advanced Final, with the New York Wall Street Dragons Cultural Foundation in second place and DragonFlies in third.
Montreal Thunder took first place in the 250-meter Women’s Invitational, beating out NY Wall Street Dragons Cultural Foundation and Women in Canoe Orange.
JP Morgan Chase won the 250-meter Corporate Invitational Race, with HSBC placing second and Verizon placing third.
NJ Team Dragons won the 500-meter Regular Open Final, ahead of UEAA and DCH Regular.
DCH Youth won the 250-meter Corporate Youth Race. HSBC Wall Street Dragons Youth B took second and Sing Tao Daily placed third.
