PADS Dominates Taiwan Championships With 8 Gold Medals

The Philippine Accessible Disability Services, Inc. (PADS) Adaptive Dragonboat Racing Team returned to the international stage in dominant fashion, winning eight gold medals and a silver while establishing three world records at the 15th International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) Club Crew World Championships in Hualien, Taiwan.

The Omega Pain Killer-PADS Dragonboat Racing Team competed from Aug. 29 to Sept. 6 in the six-day championships, which drew an estimated 5,500 athletes representing 22 countries.

PADS delivered its strongest results in the Paradragon division, sweeping gold medals in the PD1 and PD2 categories across the 200-meter, 500-meter and 2,000-meter events.

The Cebu-based squad captured gold in the PD2 Open 500-meter Standard Boat, PD1 Open 500-meter Standard Boat, PD2 Open 200-meter Standard Boat and PD1 Open 200-meter Standard Boat.

It added four more victories in small-boat and long-distance events, taking the top spot in the PD2 Open 200-meter Small Boat, PD2 Open 2,000-meter Small Boat, PD1 Open 2,000-meter Small Boat and PD1 Open 2,000-meter Standard Boat.

PADS’ lone silver medal came in the PD2 Open 500-meter Small Boat.

Beyond its medal haul, the Philippine team also rewrote the record books, setting three world records in the PD2 200-meter Standard Boat, PD2 200-meter Small Boat and PD2 2,000-meter Small Boat events.

The team’s performance also earned it top overall rankings in two categories. PADS finished first among 28 teams in the Small Boat Open and topped the All Boat Types Open field, which consisted of 45 teams.

The squad placed second overall in the Standard Open category involving 25 teams and finished fourth overall among the 66 teams competing in the World Championship.

The results marked a significant comeback for the Cebu-based team after a two-year absence from the international championships.

PADS was unable to participate in the 2024 world championships in Italy and the 2025 edition in Germany because of financial limitations. Despite its absence from the global competitions, the team continued to compete domestically, using local races to maintain its competitive form.

Over the past two years, PADS paddlers regularly competed against able-bodied teams in dragon boat races across the Philippines. Those competitions provided the team with opportunities to test its speed, endurance and race strategy ahead of its eventual return to the international scene.

The latest performance adds to PADS’ record as a three-time world champion and underscores the team’s continued strength in adaptive dragonboat racing.

With eight gold medals, one silver and three world records from the Taiwan championships, PADS emerged as one of the leading teams in this year’s international competition and strengthened its standing on the global adaptive dragonboat racing stage.