Watch: Qatar's cancer survivor paddles towards dragon boat success

euronews (in English)

After conquering cancer as a teenager, Sherouk Mohamed Morsi takes on a different beast, testing her abilities in the demanding sport of dragon boat racing.

Transcript

00:00Dragon boat is the ultimate team sport.

00:04It takes 20 paddlers and one steer and one drummer to work together in the same exact

00:09synchronization.

00:10It's physically and mentally challenging.

00:13It needs the cooperation of your entire body.

00:15You cannot stop until the finish line.

00:18You have to start strong and you have to finish stronger.

00:21Strength and endurance all the way.

00:22The sport itself is very intense, however, it brings me peace and happiness when I am

00:28in the boat.

00:29My name is Shorouk Mohamed Morsi and I am a Dragon Boat Paddler.

00:42We are Onslaught!

00:43We are Onslaught!

00:44We are Onslaught!

00:48My team's name is Onslaught Racing, Dragons Qatar.

00:52The name itself shows how competitive the team is.

00:56We have two days a week for training, Fridays and Saturdays.

01:01Sometimes we reach daily training in order just to maintain the performance.

01:07It's always about long distance paddling and adjusting your technique and your form.

01:14Technique trainings are mainly dissecting the move or the stroke.

01:18This stroke actually consists of three to four parts.

01:23You have the entry.

01:24Your hands have to be outside the boat.

01:27The second part is the drive, which is the actual pull of the water.

01:32It's not only your arm muscle.

01:34You need to push with your legs, contract your cores and use your back muscles to actually

01:38pull.

01:41Then we have the exit to emphasize the rotation of the body and the body movement.

01:47Then the recovery.

01:48The recovery is like slicing the paddle in a certain way so you can achieve a more aerodynamic

01:54movement.

01:55So you repeat every part of them for 20 to 30 times to get the entire synergy and synchronization.

02:05When the race starts getting closer, you start focusing on the strength program or power.

02:11I keep challenging myself.

02:12I keep testing my abilities and my body.

02:15I am very thankful and grateful for the ability to perform this sport and excel at it.

02:23I was 17 years old when I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

02:28I have gone into surgical treatment.

02:30The following up treatments took two to three years to complete.

02:35It was definitely a challenging time.

02:37My emotions were low.

02:38My energy was low.

02:39I lost hope in everything, whether physically or mentally.

02:44You start to question or doubt your abilities.

02:47My family was very supportive and was there for me in every point.

02:51Still, I didn't want them to go through a huge burden of my fluctuations of emotions.

02:59I was always looking for an escape or an outlet.

03:02By total coincidence, I found my passion.

03:08Joining Doha Wireless Warriors had a great impact on me because I felt that I belonged

03:13somewhere.

03:14I belonged to a certain group.

03:17The members are cancer survivors and supporters.

03:21Our objective is to get strong, to build cancer awareness that there is life after cancer.

03:27We choose the hot pink color because we are warriors.

03:30It says we're alive and we're here.

03:32We do race occasionally here at the beach.

03:34It doesn't matter if we win.

03:36We win because we're paddling.

03:37Our priority is having a community for cancer survivors.

03:40We always stop in the middle and we have a couple of moments of gratefulness.

03:44It's kind of like meditation.

03:46It's to honor those who have passed.

03:48We're extra grateful to be alive and to be on the water.

03:52Everyone is in the same boat.

03:54We're just there for you.

03:57Either you talk or you don't talk, we understand what you're going through.

04:03After cancer, people think that we are back to normal.

04:07I was struggling with forgetting, very difficult to focus.

04:13When I joined the team, I learned that there's something called chemo brain.

04:17I start to understand this is just a phase.

04:21I will pass it.

04:22Today, I feel super energetic.

04:25I feel super happy.

04:27I feel like I recharge again to go through another week.

04:34Atomic motion or repetitive motion can have the same impact on the body as meditation.

04:42You are repeating the same stroke over and over and over and over.

04:46This actually helps your body to relax.

04:50Doha Wireless Warriors was the first push for me.

04:53Their accommodation and embrace was significant in building my character.

05:00When I was able to heal.

05:03I joined a more competitive team.

05:06We have won so many medals, locally and internationally.

05:10Right now, I am a certified international race official.

05:14This sport has no limits.

05:16Recently, we have started an initiative together with my teammates, Dragon Boat Regatta Qatar

05:22works to unite local and global individuals or communities on Qatar grounds, organizing

05:29races to enhance Qatar portfolio for the sport and to be able to host international

05:36races here as well and eventually Asian Games or World Championship.

05:42I'm working hard all the time to achieve the dreams.

05:46The hustle continues.

05:47I found out from Dragon Boat that you are powerful beyond measure.

05:52You are capable beyond measure.

05:54The sky is the limit.

05:59www.DragonBoatWarriors.com

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