Dragon boat racers thrive on the water; They do anything they can to help another person out [Video]

The Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races brought hundreds of people to the edge of the Willamette River on Sunday.

Among the crowd and out on the river were two of the Portland dragon boat community’s most avid paddlers who have been training on the Willamette rain or shine for decades. Both of them — Colleen McLaughlin and Bobbie Rodriguez — are also 80-years-old and cancer survivors.

McLaughlin, who has been paddling and coaching since she was 62, served as the caller for the Dragon Fever Team, meaning her job was to shout commands to the team, time their strokes with the beat of an enormous drum and motivate them to give their best.

Their heat was one of the last of the day. And as their vividly painted, 20-paddler boat returned to a dock near the Hawthorne Bridge after that heat, McLaughlin stood at the bow, shouting instructions to the rowers facing her.

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