GEORGE TOWN: The Penang International Dragon Boat Regatta 2025 saw a moment of anxiety when two competing boats collided mid-course, sending one vessel crashing into the waves and capsizing.
Rescue teams sprang into action within seconds, racing across choppy waters to pull paddlers to safety.
The incident went viral after footage surfaced on social media on Saturday, capturing the tense moment when one boat, attempting to change direction, veered out of control and slammed into a neighbouring team, flipping it over in a violent sweep.
Life buoys were hurled towards struggling paddlers as rescuers hauled them out of the water and brought them to safety. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
This year’s competition featured 54 teams and more than 1,600 participants from 11 countries, including Malaysia.
Among the paddlers was Owen Bato Loceno, 46, captain of the Philippines team – PADS Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team.
Loceno, who was born without a left leg, believes that disability is no barrier to achievement. He has spent a decade participating in dragon boat competitions.
Proving that determination and discipline matter more than physical limitations, Loceno, who works at the front desk of a Cebu restaurant, plays wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and trains daily.
While teammates assist him during boat loading, the effort on the water is entirely his own.
His teammate Archer Yap Bolotano, 47, had his right leg from his knee below amputated after he met with a motorcycle accident in 2005.
Bolotano, who joined the team six months ago, moves with the help of a sophisticated prosthetic limb.
“There are limitations, like loading the boat, but it is compensated by the prosthetic limb I’m using right now,” said Bolotano, a civil servant, who is married with two children.
Another team member Verniel Faustrilla, 38, who has suffered from polio since childhood, initially joined the team out of curiosity after being invited by a friend.
Today, he trains and competes alongside Loceno, inspired by the same drive that once carried him onto the court as a national-level basketball and sitting volleyball player.
“In dragon boating, you cannot determine who is disabled.
“When we sit in the boat, you can’t see our disabilities,” he said, adding that despite his disability, he uses his upper body strength when rowing.
What is challenging, he adds, is the boat loading area, as some venues are easy while others are more difficult.
He, however, is thankful for his teammates who always lend him a helping hand.
Loceno said the team has 53 paddlers aged between 19 and 69.
“Twenty of the team members have different kinds of disabilities,” he added.
The team won gold in the International Premier Open category and another gold in the Tug-of-War category. They also won a bronze in the International Junior U24 Open.
