Dragons Without Border, competing on behalf of their chosen charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), fired ahead to win the dragon boat race at Canbury Park in Kingston-upon-Thames on Sunday July 17.

With only forty two seconds to spare, they beat Bragons and Carneys Community who secured second and third places and raised over £3,000 for MSF, an organisation founded in 1971 to help people receive medical care without the restrictions of national boundaries.

Kingston Rotary Club, who organise the event and have run it for sixteen years, sold 51 boats to various charities as well as sponsoring their own boat in support of Kingston Hospital Dementia Appeal.

Ramesh Kapadia, President of the Rotary Club of Kingston-upon-Thames, said: “Congratulations to Dragons Without Borders for this amazing and apt feat of solidarity in the aftermath of the tragedy in Nice.”

During the day, there were 40 races in total and each team raced three times to achieve their fastest time.

Councillor Geoff Austin, the Mayor for Kingston-upon-Thames, who presented the prizes at the end of the day, said: "Congratulations to the Kingston Rotary Club for once again organising such a wonderful spectacle.

“With such lovely weather, everyone - competitors and spectators alike - were simply bound to have an amazing day out. And of course the real winners are the numerous good causes that have benefitted from people generously sponsoring the rowers."

Dan Saunders, who lead Dragons Without Borders to victory said that MSF carry out amazing work around the world and that they were particularly drawn to their work in support of the refugee crisis.

He added: "The Kingston Rotary Club organised another fantastic dragon boat event. We had a lot of fun and got to raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières, which is an amazing charity. Winning gold was just the icing on the cake."