Every stroke counts
175 placings across both distances were decided by under half a second; 12 by two hundredths or less, and 1 were dead heats. The twenty closest:
| Gap | At stake | Event | Ahead / behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | bronze | Senior A mixed, standard boat · 200 m | Neckardrachen Heilbronn Evolution Paddling Club |
| 0.01 | bronze | Senior B women, standard boat · 500 m | SACA Golden Dragons Tampa Evolution Paddling Club |
| 0.01 | bronze | Under-24 women, small boat · 500 m (Σ) | Temasek Polytechnic Southbreeze Long Beach |
| 0.01 | 6th | Senior C open, small boat · 500 m | Wraysbury Dragons Gold Coast Dragons Varsity Lakes |
| 0.01 | 4th | Premier mixed, standard boat · 200 m | Dragon Zone Paddling Club Southbreeze Long Beach |
| 0.01 | 8th | Premier mixed, standard boat · 200 m | Boston BBB Dragon Boat Club TEAM HOOKSPORT |
| 0.01 | gold | Premier mixed, small boat · 200 m | Mr. Dragon Neckardrachen Heilbronn |
| 0.01 | 5th | Senior B mixed, small boat · 200 m | Kurpfalz Dragons Mannheim White Dragon Belgorod |
| 0.01 | 22th | Premier open, standard boat · 2000 m | Bomba Pilipinas Dragon Boat Manila Namo Li High DBT-Keelung |
| 0.02 | 12th | Premier open, standard boat · 200 m | Temasek Polytechnic XINZHUANG SPORTSWARE QARIS DBT |
| 0.02 | 4th | Premier mixed, small boat · 200 m | New Dragons Racing Club UEAA Dragon Boat NYC New York |
| 0.02 | bronze | Senior A mixed, small boat · 200 m | Steel Dragons Auckland ACCA Dragon Boat Racing Team |
| 0.03 | 7th | Premier open, small boat · 500 m | Tampines North CSN (Team NLP) UEAA Dragon Boat NYC New York |
| 0.03 | 5th | Under-24 mixed, standard boat · 200 m | Evolution Paddling Club Nanyang Technological University |
| 0.03 | silver | Under-24 women, small boat · 2000 m | Kembangan CSN (TP Alumni) New Dragons Racing Club |
| 0.03 | 14th | Premier women, standard boat · 2000 m | ACCA Dragon Boat Racing Team Secret Pizza in the Grass |
| 0.04 | 7th | Premier women, standard boat · 500 m | United Fishery Black Wave Hemmingen |
| 0.04 | silver | Senior B mixed, standard boat · 500 m | H2o Montreal Evolution Paddling Club |
| 0.04 | 4th | Senior B mixed, standard boat · 500 m | WannSea Dragons Berlin ONV-BOX |
| 0.04 | gold | Under-24 mixed, standard boat · 200 m | New Dragons Racing Club True North Paddling Club |
Lane lessons
Lanes are seeded on the previous stage's time, fastest to the centre. The middle lanes podium — so the heat time is the first thing you race for.
500 m
| Lane | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
200 m
| Lane | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
The step-up
How much faster crews went in the grand final than in their heat, across 81 crews with both times (negative is faster). Medallists' median change: -0.64 s. Everyone else: -0.30 s. Crews that qualified direct from the heat: -0.51 s. Crews that came through a repechage: -0.54 s.
Biggest step-ups
| Crew | Event | Heat | Final | Change | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Komodo Paddle Club Canberra | Senior B mixed, standard · 200 m | 1:04.00 | 50.13 | -13.87 | 7 |
| H2o Montreal | Senior B women, small · 500 m | 2:30.58 | 2:25.11 | -5.47 | 1 |
| Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association | Senior B women, small · 500 m | 2:28.76 | 2:25.81 | -2.95 | 2 |
| False Creek Racing Canoe Club | Senior B women, standard · 500 m | 2:13.07 | 2:10.50 | -2.57 | 1 |
| Gold Coast Dragons Varsity Lakes | Senior B women, small · 500 m | 2:35.52 | 2:33.13 | -2.39 | 6 |
| VIP Gorging Dragons | Senior B women, standard · 500 m | 2:12.97 | 2:10.71 | -2.26 | 2 |
| Komodo Paddle Club Canberra | Senior B women, small · 200 m | 1:01.96 | 59.73 | -2.23 | 8 |
| Pickering Dragon Boat Club | Senior B women, small · 500 m | 2:34.71 | 2:32.49 | -2.22 | 5 |
| Pickering Dragon Boat Club | Senior B women, small · 200 m | 1:00.07 | 57.91 | -2.16 | 4 |
| Apex Moscow | Senior B women, small · 500 m | 2:33.92 | 2:31.77 | -2.15 | 4 |
| Gold Coast Dragons Varsity Lakes | Senior B women, small · 200 m | 1:00.67 | 58.63 | -2.04 | 6 |
| H2o Montreal | Senior B women, small · 200 m | 57.00 | 55.09 | -1.91 | 1 |
Faded in the final
| Crew | Event | Heat | Final | Change | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flamin Dragons Port Macquarie | Senior B women, standard · 500 m | 2:21.78 | 2:23.46 | +1.68 | 7 |
| Super Beauty Team | Senior B women, standard · 500 m | 2:24.49 | 2:25.83 | +1.34 | 8 |
| VIP Gorging Dragons | Senior C women, small · 200 m | 58.42 | 59.68 | +1.26 | 2 |
| Brisbane River Dragons | Senior C women, small · 200 m | 1:01.43 | 1:02.50 | +1.07 | 7 |
| AP Power C E Dragon (Kowloon) | Senior C mixed, small · 200 m | 55.09 | 56.02 | +0.93 | 1 |
| Neckardrachen Heilbronn | Senior C mixed, small · 200 m | 57.76 | 58.66 | +0.90 | 8 |
| Hytera Dragon Boat Team Tseung Kwan O | Senior B mixed, small · 200 m | 55.70 | 56.52 | +0.82 | 8 |
| AP Power C E Dragon (Kowloon) | Senior C women, small · 200 m | 1:00.42 | 1:00.99 | +0.57 | 5 |
The 2000 m
Single finals over a three-turn course, boats started one at a time in seeded order. Thirty-two races over two days, with scratches in most large fields and turn-penalty or time-bonus notes on roughly one race in three. Two things the distance said:
- The turns decided it. Penalties of 5 to 40 seconds for missed buoys or no clear water appear on every third race; in Senior B mixed standard, one crew carried 40 seconds of penalties. A clean line is worth more than a fast start.
- The favourites held. In Premier mixed standard, the four fastest 500 m crews finished in the top four again, within five seconds of each other over eight and a half minutes. Over 2000 m the class order barely changes; the gaps behind it grow to minutes.
Every race of the championship, all 386, is approved by the organisers. Medal tables remain unofficial until the IDBF ratifies them.
Paddles Ready Analytics is built and operated by BIOME Eco-Labs, Ottawa, Canada. Recorded, computed, checked.
