They did it in the long haul, the short sprint, and now, Nathan Benderson Park's paddling program has swept its competition to take three more world championships, for a total of six. The park is playing host this week to the 2022 International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF) 13th Club Crew World Championships. This biennial event brings together the world's best crews after they won their national club competitions.

The NBP Paddling Program's crews competed Saturday in the classic 500-meter dragon-boat sprint. They competed Tuesday in the 2000-meter oval competition, which has been called "stock-car racing on the water," and Thursday in the 200-meter sprint. In the 500-meter sprints, three NBP crews took gold and top international honors. Two of those honors are considered unofficial until the medal presentation Sunday morning. The NBP Dragons community team's senior-B (ages 50 and older) short boat was presented its gold medals Saturday morning. That boat also claimed a silver in the 2000-meter oval and a bronze in the 200-meter sprint.

NBP Survivors In Sync will claim its title Sunday morning in the 500-meter after its Saturday win. The crew snagged a world championship gold medal in the 200-meter sprint, and a silver in the 2000-meter oval competition Tuesday. The team paddles in the breast-cancer survivors (BCP) division with a standard 20-paddler boat.

The NBP Warriors, a team competing in the all-cancer survivors (ACP) division with a short-boat entry of 10 paddlers, will claim its third set of gold medals Sunday morning after its Saturday performance in the 500-meter. They took a world championship home in the 200-meter sprint, after claiming the world championship in the 2000-meter ovals Tuesday.

“Today was an exciting day of racing to watch three of our four crews sweep their races and end their week of competition with three golds," said Stephen V. Rodriguez, the president of the Nathan Benderson Park Conservancy. "These are truly world champions who’ve been working hard all year to hone their skills on the water and to deliver a truly world-championship performance. We congratulate all of NBP Paddling for this win, whether they were on the water, supporters, or future world champions.”