It’s time to ride the dragon! The Paris Olympics will include dragon boat racing as a demonstration sport. Its traditions come from China, but it’s getting more and more popular around the world. CGTN Europe’s Michael Marillier hit the water to find out why.
#dragonboat #Paris2024 #Olympics
#dragonboat #Paris2024 #Olympics
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00:00We're in the heart of London, alongside the famous Thames River, the spiritual home of
00:05British rowing. But we're not here for rowing, we're here for Dragon Boat.
00:19This traditional Chinese sport dates back more than 2000 years,
00:24and yet it seems to attract new fans all the time.
00:27I'm meeting up with the Thames Dragons, a team here in London. First things first, fitness,
00:36then technique.
00:37So you're twisting your body like that, and by twisting, you're getting forward, like that.
00:44So yeah, you're twisting forward, and you're throwing your paddle forwards,
00:48and then plunging it into the water, and then pulling it back.
00:52This is more complicated than I thought, but there's no time to dilly-dally.
00:58Pretty soon we're whipping out the boat, and heading to the water.
01:02A quick check to make sure the dragon is happy, and then it's time to row.
01:22Come on!
01:34It's all about blood, sweat and tears.
01:37That was absolutely crazy. I feel like my heart's gonna jump out of my chest.
01:46Well done.
01:47But there's a spirit in this team. A spirit that pushes you every inch of the way.
01:54Yeah, our team's fantastic, because we've got so many people from different countries.
01:59It's a very diverse team, and everybody brings something, something new.
02:05Bron Roberts joined the team after a battle with cancer.
02:09She says the dragons changed her life.
02:12Your body doesn't feel that it's yours anymore, and it's not doing what you want it to do.
02:18And with dragon boating, it just, it built up myself physically,
02:24but also on an emotional level as well.
02:27And emotions are at the heart of the sport.
02:30It started as a tribute to the poet Chu Yuan.
02:34He's inspired plays. There are even statues of him in China.
02:39But his story is bittersweet.
02:42Legend has it that he drowned himself after his people were conquered by another kingdom.
02:47The people in the village paddled across the river, searching for his body.
02:51But it was too late.
02:53I think that's what makes it so appealing and so beautiful,
02:57is the fact that there is, you know, deep-rooted, like, long
03:01history revolving around the sport, and that makes it fantastic.
03:05You know, not many sports can claim to have that kind of history behind them.
03:09Of course, you can't have dragon boats without zongzi,
03:13a small parcel of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves.
03:19But again, there's a history here.
03:23The villagers feared that fish would eat Chu Yuan's remains.
03:29They dropped rice in the water, hoping it would distract the creatures below.
03:35It's fast, it's furious, that's it!
03:40Back on the Thames, the creatures above the water are causing all the fuzz.
03:49It's all about timing. Every team member has to be in time with the other.
03:57My boat, bring it up to 100 percent!
04:00The dragons have to train like this because the competition is so intense.
04:06And there are dragon boat races all over the world.
04:15And no matter where you go, there's always a sense of excitement.
04:36As soon as you get on that boat and you hear the drum,
04:51you see the dragon heads going on and the dragon tails on the boat.
04:55It's a fantastic feeling to just have that energy around you of those drums beating,
05:01and you can really feel a sense of culture coming through with the race.
05:05The races mark the tragedy of Chu Yuan's death.
05:11But they also celebrate his passion for life, his desire to make a difference.
05:17I'm no philosopher, but every time I see Bron, I think of Chu Yuan.
05:23It's something that I feel quite privileged to be part of.
05:26And it's a very festive occasion.
05:29So you can see here the flags are up.
05:32Yesterday, I came down to watch some of the teams.
05:35And again, there's a competitiveness, but there's a sense of festival with it as well.
05:40There's something different about this sport.
05:43Yes, it has its own culture and traditions,
05:46but somehow it feels universal, as if it belongs to everyone.
05:52It brings people together, I think, in a way that a lot of sports try, but can't.
05:59I will never give up.
06:01And we just stay as a team together.
06:04I will work to the end goal of the race.
06:06It's been quite a journey.
06:09I'm not sure I'll ever learn the perfect stroke.
06:12But I've discovered something about the Chinese spirit.
06:19And perhaps that's what really matters.
06:23There's a saying in China,
06:26The ocean is vast because it admits numerous rivers.
06:31In other words, great things happen when we put our differences aside.
06:36Because to move forward, we must move together.