US SAILING TEAM-MEMBERS WIN TWO GOLD MEDALS
AT FRENCH OLYMPIC SAILING WEEK

Hyères, France (May 1, 2006) – US Sailing Team-members wrapped up another successful event in Europe last Friday by winning two Gold medals at the French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyères, France. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) won the 80-boat Laser Radial fleet while Sally Barkow (Nashotah,
Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won the 26-boat Yngling fleet. The event, ranked by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as a Grade 1 event, celebrated one of its largest fleets in its history with more than 1,000 sailors from 50 countries participating.

The Laser Radial fleet produced one of the most exciting finales on Friday, with the battle for gold becoming a straight head-to-head between USA’s World Champion and World number one Paige Railey and the World Silver medalist and defending champion from France, Sophie De Turckheim. Railey had her eyes and boat set on De Turckheim, who needed to bridge a four point gap on her rival to take Gold. However, De Turckheim could not escape the American’s clutches, finishing eighth, with Railey behind her in ninth. Railey therefore takes Gold at yet another major event, with the 18-year-old now scoring nine wins from just 13 ISAF Graded events in the Laser Radial, an incredible record which includes victories at the ISAF Youth Worlds, Europeans, North Americans and Worlds and three different ISAF Grade 1 events.

In the Yngling fleet, World Champions Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi successfully defended their title, sailing to a comfortable second in the Medal Race. The British team led by Sarah Ayton was unable to exert much pressure on the Americans on the final day but ended taking the silver medal after a sixth in the Medal Race. For Barkow and her crew, this regatta win is the latest in what is quickly becoming a long list of championship titles. Just a few weeks ago, Barkow, Howe and Capozzi won the Princess Sofia Trophy in Spain.

For complete results from French Olympic Sailing Week, including results from the other US Sailing Team-members who competed in the event, please visit the event website at http://sof.ffvoile.net/index.php.  

Paige Railey now travels to Austria for the ISAF World Sailing Games which start next week. Meanwhile, Barkow, Howe and Capozzi are switching from fleet racing to match racing to defend their World Match Racing Championship title in Denmark later this month.

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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