GLEANER•
Dragon boat ‘twins’ begin to make a name
Kashane and Ashane might sound like names given to twins. However, it is sheer coincidence that a mere ‘K’ separates two professional bodybuilders of no relation who happened to make their dragon-boat debuts for Jamaica in The Bahamas two weekends ago.Kashane McFarlene and Ashane Gordon-Morrison turned heads and drove the fear of strength into other competitors at the May 2-3 Bahamas International Dragon Boat Festival, moving even rivals to share tips on technique, which, they assured, if mastered, would make Jamaica “unbeatable” with an athletic team featuring former footballer Rushaine Tyrell as well as martial artists Richard Stone, Akino Lindsay and Nicholai Reid.Introduced to the sport by a fellow gym enthusiast familiar with Jamaica’s dragon-boat captain, Jason McKay, Kashane and Ashane jumped at the opportunity to represent their country in a second sport.Both returned home as members of the team that lowered the mixed 200-metre with a time of 1:01.82.“The first time I tried dragon-boat racing, I was like, ‘Wow! This is a new experience’, something vastly different from anything I have ever done, my first time doing any watersport, first time paddling a boat,” said Kashane, who competes in men’s physique bodybuilding as an International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) pro.Ashane, who started competing locally in 2019 and was women’s physique champion from 2019-2024 before going pro in 2025, said she is now in love with dragon-boat racing.“I love it