Dragon boats ride Latin wave of popularity

Pink warriors

Pink Warriors Panama began when an Argentine team asked de Finizio to search for other breast cancer survivors in Panama to join their team.

The Chinese-Panamanian Association was already hosting dragon boat races in Panama at the time, but there was no cancer survivor category.

So, de Finizio set out to start one while building a nonprofit organization to promote the sport.

"Our goal is to promote dragon boat paddling among cancer survivors as a sport that supports physical and emotional recovery. Paddling aids physical rehabilitation after mastectomy or breast cancer diagnosis," said de Finizio, who is also the president of Pink Warriors Panama's nonprofit board.

"Equally important, though, it offers psychological benefits. Being part of a team and community always seems to help people move forward in their cancer journey."

According to the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission, there are now more than 260 breast cancer paddling teams across 33 countries.

Pink Warriors Panama has competed worldwide, from the idyllic mountain town of Bariloche in Argentina to Brazil, the Bahamas, and Miami in the United States.

A team delegation attended the World Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Championship in New Zealand and the World Club Championship in Ravenna ranking fifth in the 200-meter race — their strongest event.

"We are incredibly proud of everything we have achieved. We improved all our times and proved that it's possible to be athletes after cancer," de Finizio said.

"Many of the women who row today had never done sports in their lives, so this is a great achievement for a group like ours.

"We also aim to inspire others. That is truly our goal," she said.