Dragon boat gold for local paddlers

Among the standout athletes powering Canada to the top of the podium at the 17th International Dragon Boat Federation Championships last week were two paddlers from Kahnawake: Robert Deom and Suzy Goodleaf.

The pair secured a total of eight metals, including silver and bronze in a competition in which Canada dominated overall, claiming 105 medals, including four gold medals across every race category.

Deom and Goodleaf are vital members of Canada’s Senior C boat crews, helping secure gold in all four distances 2,000M, 1,000M, 500M, and 200M. Their participation not only highlighted their athletic excellence, but also brought a powerful message of Indigenous pride to the world stage.

“We arrived expecting to win. It would have been a real disappointment if we did not,” Deom said. “The fact that we did win is an affirmation of our hard work, confidence and faith in each other and the coaching.”

Both of them spent extensive hours training for this championship. Despite the challenges, they persevered and triumphed, earning them their big win.

“It was the longest and biggest world competition so far. I’m proud that I made the team,” Goodleaf said.

“I just felt proud that we could represent Kahnawake at this level. We won four gold, but the last one that we won was for the 500-metre race and realizing that we beat Australia over the line was pretty cool,” Goodleaf said.

“You don’t know exactly what’s happening as you’re in the boat, but it was so close by 1/1000 of a second or so. It was really that crazy.”

For Deom, the journey to international gold began in 2016, when a friend first introduced him to dragon boating. What started as curiosity quickly became a passion.

One of the most memorable moments for Deom came during the 500M open boat final. “We beat Australia by 0.7 seconds overall, beating them by 2.7 seconds, passing the finish line and seeing that our boat was ahead of theirs, it was very emotional,” he said. “A real amazing experience.” The team beat the United States overall by 1.7 seconds the very next day, solidifying Canada’s status as the team to beat.

Reflecting on the intensity and focus that drove the Canadian teams throughout the week-long competition. “Canada is very, very hard to beat,” Deom said. That expectation paid off, with gold medals piling up across a gruelling schedule of semi-finals and finals.

“Having won three years in a row with our club we are like the three-time champions in the whole world,” Deom said.

Representing their community and culture was just as important as the medals. Deom and Goodleaf carried wampum flags into the boat and onto the podium, proudly showcasing their Haudenosaunee heritage.

“We both brought our wampum flags, one of the interesting things is that our teams were largely innocent of the Haudenosaunee so walking to the podium when Suzy unfolded the Haudenosaunee flag, we gave them a quick explanation and then afterwards our teammates asked more in-depth questions,” he said. “I provided them with some background about the Great Law of Peace, the Confederacy, and there was a very positive response from my teammates.”

The cultural exchange extended beyond the Canadian team. International competitors took interest in the Haudenosaunee flags and their meaning. “When they see other national flags and learn about us it raises awareness that Indigenous people are here, and we’re here to stay,” said Goodleaf.

“It was really nice that Robert was there too so we could share that moment,” Goodleaf added. “Every time we won, we brought out our Haudenosaunee flag. Everyone was always asking, ‘What is that?’ and we’d say, ‘It’s the first Canadian flag, the original.

“Each time we brought it out, we educated people about what it meant.”

Looking forward, both Deom and Goodleaf hope their success will inspire the next generation of Indigenous youth across Turtle Island to get involved in sports, community, and culture.

“I felt proud that we could represent Kahnawake at this level,” said Goodleaf. “Just feeling pride and hoping that kids can see they can do anything, there’s no limit, you just have to work hard.”

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