Latest news with #dragonboating
SBS Australia
16-07-2025
- Sport
- SBS Australia
Meet the Greek-Australian 'Zeus' who champions in Dragon Boating and philosophises stoically!
A nickname like 'Zeus' doesn't come lightly. And as you'll soon discover, Christopher lives up to it both on and off the water. We had the great pleasure of sitting down with the champion paddler — now a successful coach — to hear the story behind the accolades and gain insight into the life of a man who continues to inspire new generations. Born and raised in Australia to a Greek family, Christopher's early years were steeped in a sense of culture and community. His mother's origins are from Cyprus. His father was born in Egypt, however his origins are from the island Lemnos, where Christopher visits annually and regards it as a home. 'My heritage absolutely shaped my upbringing,' he reflects. 'Greek values — family, hard work, loyalty, resilience — they've stayed with me all the way through my sporting career.' While many from our community typically gravitate towards football, basketball or athletics, Christopher took a different route. 'I wasn't surrounded by paddlers growing up,' he admits. 'There were no athletes in the family. I stumbled upon rowing whn i was studying in Oxford. Once I got in a boat, I was hooked. The rhythm, the mental and physical challenge — it just clicked.' Dragon boating and paddling, as he explains, is not for the faint-hearted. It's a sport that demands immense physical endurance, long hours, financial investment, and unwavering mental strength. Source: Supplied Over the years, there were countless highlights — from national victories to the thrill of representing Australia on the global stage. But for Christopher, the recent induction into the International Hall of Fame holds deep personal meaning. 'It's not just about medals. It's recognition of the journey — of every early morning, every injury, every sacrifice. And for someone with a multicultural background, it means a lot to stand in those halls.' Today, 'Zeus' has taken on a new role: that of coach and mentor. And the results speak for themselves. What's his secret as a coach? 'It's about balance,' he says. 'You push, but you protect. You challenge your athletes mentally and physically, but you also help them navigate setbacks. It's about building not just winners, but well-rounded people.' He adds: 'For multicultural athletes especially, I say — embrace who you are. Don't let anyone define your limits. Our diversity is our strength.' The nickname 'Zeus'? It started as a joke among teammates — a nod to his Greek roots, leadership qualities, and powerful presence in the boat. But the name stuck. 'Do I live up to it outside the water?' he laughs. 'I try! I'm passionate, loyal, maybe a bit loud — definitely Greek in all the best ways.' Outside paddling, Christopher enjoys cooking Greek food, reading history, and spending time with family. And yes — he travels to Greece often. His favorite place? Lemnos. He also has an ambition to climb to Greek mountains like Pindos and …Olympus. Cristopher Alexandrou with his mother Maria Alexandrou and Themi Kallos at the SBS studios in Artarmon. Source: SBS / SBS Greek- Niko Plaskasovitis
ABC News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Meet the Canberrans in Australia's national dragon boating team, the Auroras
It's a fast and furious sport with an ancient past and a growing legion of devoted fans. But when 16-year-old Jun Lee tells people he races dragon boats, he's almost always met with confusion. "Usually it's something like, what is a dragon boat?" the Canberra schoolboy said. "It's a pretty niche sport at the end of the day, so not many people know about it." Dragon boating originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. The modern version of the sport sees teams of 20 paddlers — plus a drummer and a steerer — race distances up to two kilometres. "I think it is one of the most high-stress environments I'm in," Lee said. The sport's popularity is on the rise, with competitive and social clubs popping up around the country. More than 300 of Australia's best paddlers have travelled to Germany to compete in next week's World Dragon Boat Racing Championships. The national team, called the Auroras, is made up of teens to retirees competing in different divisions, who have been preparing intensely for the past 22 weeks. That includes 32 Canberra-based paddlers, who have been braving sub-zero temperatures to train on Lake Burley Griffin almost every day. Once a rugby league and union player, Sam Thompson started dragon boating a decade ago and now captains Australia's Senior B team. "It took me a few years to admit to people that I was a dragon boater, but I'm very proud now," Thompson said. More than 4,000 paddlers from 34 countries will compete in the world championships. "It's going to be an extremely tough competition — if we get to the podium, that'll be unreal," Thompson said. While dragon boating can struggle to attract younger participants, Ashleigh Wright first picked up a paddle when she was just 12. "Mum found an ad on Facebook for it and you could do it with your parents so she thought it would be a cute thing for us to do together," she said. The now-18-year-old has not looked back since, and is proud to be pulling on the green and gold for the first time. "I love the community in dragon boating," Wright said. This month's championships will also mark the inaugural appearance of Australia's paradragon team. Among the paddlers is former paralympic cyclist Lindy Hou, who is blind. The gold medallist swapped the bike for the boat to stay fit in retirement. "Once I learnt how to hold a paddle and the movement, I just have to keep time with everybody," Hou said. The world championships begin in Germany on July 14.
CTV News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
North America's largest dragon boat festival wraps up in False Creek
Hundreds of racers from around the world gave it their all in False Creek this weekend for the annual Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival—the largest event of its kind in North America. In total, 222 teams from nine countries participated in more than 100 races Saturday and Sunday. 'Despite the rain, everyone's in high spirits because this is what a lot of teams train an entire year for. They've flown in from around the world to race here,' said Dominic Lai with Dragon Boat BC. He explained that dragon boating made its Canadian debut at Expo 86, when members of Vancouver's Asian community brought the vessels over from Hong Kong for a demonstration race, and the sport took off. The first Dragon Boat Festival was in 1989. Sunday's festivities included a specialty cup competition for breast cancer survivors. 'I think most of us joined because we wanted to sort of get back into shape after breast cancer, but also to change the face of breast cancer, (show) that we can be active,' said Debra Chelsey, a member of a team from Calgary. 'We're living and we're strong, we're getting healthy,' said her teammate, Angela Reither. 'We have such great spirit and we're thriving. It shows our strength.'
