On June 23rd (Beijing Time), the Dongguan Zhongtang Dragon Boat Team clinched double championships at the 7th Copenhagen Dragon Boat Festival, securing victories in both the amateur and professional categories.

The competition saw 38 teams vying for the top honors.In the amateur category, eight groups competed, with the top four advancing to the semifinals. According to the competition rules, the top three from the amateur semifinals faced off against the Zhongtang team, which emerged victorious, earning the“joint championship” title in the amateur division.

The professional category featured four teams, divided into two groups. The ZhongtangTeam first faced Team B of the Chinese Wisdom Academy (Danish-Chinese Association) and emerged victorious. They then competed against Team A of the same academy in the final. The ZhongtangTeam led by a significant margin, securing the professional championship as well.

In a pre-race interview, a member of the Zhongtang Team, Li Haihui, expressed confidence and emphasized a relaxed approach to the challenge. Post-victory, the team members were elated, noting that the international exchange was enlightening and that they felt proud to bring honor to their hometown.

William G,a member of Danish team,said"Zhongtang Team was very good.I think we kept up them with the last 200, but in the start they took a whole boat. We need some more practice."The audience Steen told reporter that he thought Zhongtang Team was great and generally Denmark Omega team was so close to surpass them.

During the event, Zhongtang Town Party Secretary Chen Zongwu introduced Dongguan and Zhongtang's rich dragon boat heritage in English to the audience. He highlighted Dongguan's reputation as a hub of advanced manufacturing and a renowned Chinese tourist city. Zhongtang Town, known as both the "Famous Town of Manufacturing" and the "Hometown of Dragon Boats," boasts over 500 years of dragon boat culture. With hundreds of dragon boat orders annually, Zhongtang is famed for its high-quality dragon boats, earning the saying "the best dragon boats are made in Zhongtang."

龙舟出征丹麦，东莞中堂勇夺“双冠”

北京时间6月23日，在丹麦哥本哈根举行的第七届丹麦哥本哈根龙舟文化节上，东莞中堂龙舟队获得“双冠军”。

38支龙舟队参加了比赛。其中，业余组的八组选手中产生四强。根据比赛规则，业余组四强赛中的前三名有机会直接与中堂队进行较量。最终，中堂队毫无悬念地胜出，获得业余组“共同冠军”。

随后，专业组的四支队伍被分为两组进行比赛。中堂队先与中华智慧学院（丹中协会）医和堂联队的B队进行比试，胜出后再与另一组获胜的中华智慧学院（丹中协会）医和堂联队的A队进行总决赛。中堂队在总决赛中大幅领先，取得了专业组比赛的总冠军。

在赛前采访中，中堂龙舟队的队员黎海辉表达了对比赛的信心，同时也表示将“不带包袱、轻松迎接挑战”。赛后，队员们非常开心，认为这次国际交流增长了见识、受益匪浅，并为能给家乡争光感到自豪。

比赛也让外国选手和现场观众意犹未尽。“比赛非常有趣，”丹麦选手William G表示，“中国队非常棒，我们在最后200米才接近他们，我觉得我们还需要多多练习”。现场观众Steen也兴奋地向记者分享他的感受：“比赛太激烈了！中国队很厉害，我们也差一点能超过他们。”

中堂镇镇委书记陈宗武用英文向观众介绍了东莞及中堂镇的“龙舟威水史”：东莞市以先进制造业闻名于世，它还是“中国优秀旅游城市”，而中堂镇则不仅是“先进制造名镇”，还是著名的“中国龙舟之乡”,龙舟文化延绵500年，每年都能接到数百个龙舟订单，素有“好龙舟中堂造”的美誉。

采访 | 羊城晚报驻丹麦特约记者 游博凯
摄影 | 羊城晚报驻丹麦特约记者 郭添锦
文本 | 曾潇
翻译｜刘佳慧
图片 | 东莞宣传部（除另署名外）