Bob Mina

“I asked the Wyeth Wyverns team manager, ‘How long are the races?’ He said, ‘500 meters.’ I asked, ‘How long does that take?’ He replied, ‘Just over 2 minutes.’ I thought, ‘Two minutes? How hard can THAT be?’
I was such an idiot.

But after my first practice in 2004, thrashing along with a 51” wooden paddle, I was hooked. It was on this team I would meet my future mentor: Chris Marquart, of PDBA and Team USA.

In 2009, though I knew I had no chance, I tried out for Team USA. I did 6 trials that year and was cut on the last day, but I knew I was close.
Close enough that waiting two more years would be torture.

I finally made the US Team in 2011 on Senior A Open/Mixed.

In 2013, my goal on the first day of time trials was: make Senior A and go home. I went early and posted a solid time, that stayed atop the leaderboard through the morning, and into the afternoon. Coach McNamara came down, and kept it short and to the point: ‘Premier Open. 1K and 2K. But fix that timing, or you'll live in 10 Seat.’
At age 42, I'd made the US Premier Open boat.

I tried out for Senior A in 2017, and after my selection in April, tested again for Premier Open. I knew I had little-to-no-chance, but I had to see where I'd stack up.
In the end, I went to China as Premier again, at age 46.
By the end of Kunming, I had a Premier Open Gold Medal in the 1000m. I would hear the anthem, stand on the top of the podium with my teammates, and sing. From a corporate gym to the top of the world.

You never know where your journey will take you. You'll meet people, make friends, and if you're extremely lucky, those people will see more in you than you know exists. They'll push you and get you outside of what's known.
Some races may ‘only’ be two minutes, but when you do it right, you can pack an entire lifetime into those two minutes.
Just get in, put two hands on the paddle, and see where it'll take you."

[Bob Mina (West Chester, PA, USA), paddler on Philadelphia Dragon Boat Association and US national team.]

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