Dragon boat paddlers from the two Koreas will not be able to form a joint team at the upcoming world championships in the United States because North Korean athletes haven’t been granted visas, a report said Wednesday.
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) – Dragon boat paddlers from the two Koreas will
not be able to form a joint team at the upcoming world championships in
the United States because North Korean athletes haven’t been granted
visas, a report said Wednesday.
Citing
officials at the International Canoe Federation (ICF), Radio Free Asia
(RFA) said the unified Korean team will not be a part of the ICF Dragon
Boat World Championships in Gainesville, Georgia, starting on Sept. 13.
The
Koreas assembled combined teams in men’s and women’s dragon boat racing
at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia last month, and won three medals,
including a gold in the women’s 500-meter event.
Ross
Solly, ICF’s media and communication manager, told RFA that following a
meeting with canoe federations from both Koreas during the Asian Games,
the ICF had to “reluctantly” decide to leave the joint team out of the
competition.
Solly
also said the ICF had also been in contact with the International
Olympic Committee and relevant U.S. authorities on the issue but said
time wasn’t on the ICF’s side.
On the event’s official website, the list of 13 participating countries doesn’t include South Korea either.
In
this file photo from Aug. 26, 2018, members of the unified Korean
dragon boat racing team celebrate their gold medal in the women’s
500-meter event at the 18th Asian Games at the Jakabaring Rowing &
Canoeing Regatta Course in Palembang, Indonesia. (Yonhap)
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