US SAILING TEAM-MEMBERS WIN YNGLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Barkow, Capozzi, and Howe Win Second World Championship Title

	Yngling Women's World Champions From left to right: Debbie Capozzi, Carrie Howe, and Sally Barkow

Portsmouth, R.I. (July 25, 2005) – US Sailing Team-members Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.), Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) have been crowned World Champions after winning the Yngling Women's World Championship in Mondsee, Austria, over the weekend. The U.S. sailors defeated 33 boats to win the Championship, including last year’s world champion Trine Palludan (DEN) and Athens silver medalist Surlana Taran (UKR).

Racing for the Yngling Women's World Championship took place in Austria on a small lake in a mountainous region, making it difficult for the competitors to get accurate weather predictions. No team finished consistently within the top 10 in the first four races of the Championship. For the last race of the Championship, a lack of wind meant the start was delayed until just before the 3 p.m. local time deadline. Barkow held a nine-point lead over Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Ashley Holtum (NZL), who in turn were defending a two-point gap to the third place Russian team of Vlada Ilienko, Ekaterina Kovalenko and Natalia Gapanovich. The three teams finished together in the final race, with Barkow edging out Ferris to finish one place above them in eleventh, with the Russians following in 13th. Another American team, skippered by 2003 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Hannah Swett with crew Laura Schmidt and Melissa Purdy, finished an impressive 6th overall.

This is the second World Championship title for skipper Barkow and her crew: in 2004, the team won the ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship. So far this year, team Barkow has been enjoying a successful year after winning US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR and Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, France.

For complete results from the Yngling World Championship, please visit the event website at www.yngling2005.com.  

The US Sailing Team is managed by US SAILING, national governing body of the sport. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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