A boat of his own: This dragon boat was donated to coach, organizer Jim O’Dell - Gainesville Times

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A boat of his own: This dragon boat was donated to coach, organizer Jim O’Dell

Jim O'Dell, the high performance coach for the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, poses for a portrait on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. O'Dell has been a big part in building a prominent program at Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club since the early 2000s, and in November he was honored with a dragon boat donated in his name to LCKC. - photo by Austin Steele

09102018 ODELL 001.JPG — Jim O'Dell, the high performance coach for the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, poses for a portrait on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. O'Dell has been a big part in building a prominent program at Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club since the early 2000s, and in November he was honored with a dragon boat donated in his name to LCKC. - photo by Austin Steele

When Team USA won the Nations Cup at the 2018 ICF World Dragon Boat Championships back in September, local coach Jim O’Dell was ecstatic.