Diné canoeist part of six-man crew that qualified for international competition in Singapore
Submitted | Adam Becenti
Diné canoeist Adam Becenti (third from right) stands with his outrigger canoeing team in this submitted photo. The six-man crew is competing in the International Va’a Federation World Sprint Championships Singapore 2026, which started on Monday and ends on Aug. 31.
WINDOW ROCK
Adam Becenti grew up as a typical Navajo kid playing football and basketball.
For a good part of the year, he worked the family’s cattle in Hard Ground Flats, just north of Church Rock, New Mexico. After living in the area for over two decades of his life, he moved to Portland, Oregon in 2013.
It was there that he discovered dragon boating, a sport in which a long boat is propelled by large team of paddlers.
“I saw a friend participate in that at the Rose City Dragon Boat Festival,” Becenti said. “That was in 2013 and the very next year I jumped on a team. That is where I started to learn how to paddle.”
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 20, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow