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07/11/07 USA's Sally Barkow and Crew Win Silver at ISAF Sailing World Championships After an extremely tight Medal Race today, USA's Yngling trio of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Team 7 demonstrated their typical confidence and strength in the Medal Race format, finishing a solid second in the race with the necessary boats between them and their competition to move up to silver overall. According to US SAILING's High Performance Director Gary Bodie, the final position of the other boats in the race left Team 7 with the Silver, but only several feet from the Gold. "Even though she didn't win, Sally put on the best show of anyone out there," he said. Results
Up Next The Finns are on deck for Medal Races today (Wednesday), if the wind cooperates. Medal Races are scheduled for the RS:X Men and Women on Thursday, while the 470s (Men and Women) and 49ers are scheduled for Friday. Stay tuned for results from the staggered medal races this week. First Olympic Qualifier Beyond the world champion titles, the pressure is on for each sailor's country: This regatta is the first Theme of the Week: Gusty, Shifty Winds ?The Wind is Calling? may be the official motto of the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships, currently underway in Cascais, Portugal, but the more realistic theme of the week would be ?The Wind is Howling.? Weather has played a big role in this important regatta, throwing 1,600 competitors from 75 nations unexpected challenges, stranding sailors on shore or causing races to be abandoned after only one leg. However, on Monday, all racing was cancelled due to the huge winds steam-rolling across Cascais Bay. The World Champion titles in the Star and Tornado were decided without competing in the Medal Races, after shifty and challenging conditions the day before. USA's Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree, the number one ranked Tornado team on the 2007 US Sailing Team, finished 10th in a 49-boat fleet. Laser sailor Andrew Campbell said he woke up Monday morning to the wind blowing so hard through the slot of his window that it was hard to get the door open to get into the kitchen of the apartment he is staying at. When he ventured down to the sailing center, he said there were no boats on the water, and ?instead of the bright blue Atlantic, a frothing, windswept, angry ocean.? The noise was so loud, it was like a ?locomotive bearing down on the boat parks.? ?The northerly was in full roar, gusting at times over 40 knots, so we all sat ashore waiting in vain for it to moderate,? said Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe. Despite shifty and tricky winds Tuesday, the staggered racing battled on as organizers attempted to squeeze in the requisite number of races. In a 12-14 knot breeze, the Lasers sailed their Medal Race on a windward-leeward course. The Laser Radial sailors faced shifty but strong wind at approximately 20 knots -- and often gusting much higher, resulting in several capsizes on the course. Tunnicliffe, ranked the number one Laser Radial sailor on the 2007 US Sailing Team, finished an impressive fifth in the double point Medal Race, moving up one position to an overall fifth place out of 112 boats. ?The final was a tough little race sailed in a 20 knot breeze, gusting into the upper 20s,? she said, adding the play-by-play: ?I got a great start and tacked out to the right just the way I planned to and came back on starboard tack to cross the fleet. Then I had a bad tack. At the weather mark there was only one boat behind me and I was last when we finished the run. There?s no room for error at this level. ?It could have been better, but I?m happy with the results, given that the wind and conditions were not what I?d trained for,? said Tunnicliffe. Looking ahead, she expects much lighter conditions at the second annual Olympic Test Event in Qingdao, China in August. Resources Full list of American competitors and their hometowns:
Complete results, photos, international entry lists, Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions:
About the Teams
The 2007 USDST also consists of the top three ranked sailors in each of
the three classes chosen for the 2008 Paralympic Games: the 2.4mR, the
Sonar, and SKUD-18. For a complete list of the 2007 USDST and their
hometowns, please visit:
Newly launched in 2007, the Elite Youth Development Team represents the
country's top youth sailors in the Laser and Laser Radial. To help the
athletes gain more sailing experience at the highest levels, members of
the Team will travel to major international regattas worldwide and be
supported by elite-level coaches. To meet the members of the 2007
EYDT
and read their bios, please visit: |
