Thames team prove a Fortitude to be reckoned with in Budapest

British dragon boating was well represented in the European Club Crew Championships in Budapest. Crews representing Amathus, Henley Dragons and Thames went Hungary for medals as they faced the might of Europe and came away with their pride intact.

All the crews faced tough opposition in their respective classes but Thames Fortitude managed to secure bronzeware in both the 2K and the 500m competition and just missed out in the 200m by a fraction in 4th place.The 2K proved to be the usual bun fight, particularly for Amathus with a 5th place in a field of 18 crews, 3 of which sank after shipping water in the bumpy conditions. The open field included the German, Czech, Russian and Hungarian national teams in their club guises making the 5th place all the more remarkable. Henley's mixed team faired well in their class of 18 with a worthy 12th place.

The 200m competition proved to be the biggest challenge for the BDA crews. 13th and 14th places for Henley and Amathus respectively and a fraction of a second denying a full house of bronze medals for Fortitude. Again the fierce competition in the open competition required a massive effort from the largely under 23 crew representing Amathus. The blue ribbon 500m competition showed the quality in Europe. A British club record time of 1:54.75 by Amathus in their semi final following a heat of 1:56.42, a rep of 1:59.11 and sub 1:58 time in the minor final secured 8th place in the Premier Open field of 18 clubs. Henley remained consistent with their 12th place in the Premier Mixed. Fortitude had the worst of the competition formats with a win needed in the heat or single semi final race to gain a major final place. Just 5 hundredths advantage over Kiev Senior Open in the heat took them to lane 2 of the major final where they repeated the feat to gain bronze ahead of Kiev by 7 hundredths in 1:56.84, their fastest time.