FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Marni Lane
617-671-8332
401-683-0800 x671
 

SALLY BARKOW NAMED FINALIST FOR

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

 
Portsmouth, R.I. (August 22, 2006) — The Women’s Sports Foundation has named Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.) as a finalist for the 2006 Sportswoman of the Year Award in the team sport category. Each year, the Women’s Sports Foundation honors two exceptional athletes — one individual and one team sport athlete — for extraordinary performances. Athletes were considered for the 2006 Award based on their athletic achievements between August 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. 

Previous recipients of this award include Sue Bird, Bonnie Blair, Natalie Coughlin, Chris Evert, Mia Hamm, Sarah Hughes, Juli Inkster, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michelle Kwan, Lisa Leslie, Martina Navratilova, Sheryl Swoopes, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

In addition to the Women’s Sports Foundation Awards Committee, the general public has the opportunity to vote until August 31. The winner will be announced in October. To cast your vote for Sally Barkow, please visit www.sportswomanvote.com.

Skipper Sally Barkow and her crew, Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), have had an incredible string of victories over the past year. In September 2005, Barkow and her crew became repeat champions of one of the world’s most prestigious women’s sailing regattas, the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. Over the next two months, she led the team in winning both the International Sailing Federation Women’s Match Race World Championship and the U.S. Women’s Match Race Championship.

In 2006, Barkow’s team won three impressive gold medals at US SAILING’s Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR), the HRH Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyères, France. In July, the team also won the bronze medal at the Yngling World Championship in La Rochelle, France. Barkow’s team was ranked the number one Yngling crew on the 2006 US Sailing Team and named US SAILING’s 2006 Team of the Year. Barkow was also named US SAILING’s 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. 

About the US Sailing Team
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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