US SAILING TEAM-MEMBERS WIN BRONZE MEDAL
AT YNGLING WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

La Rochelle, France (July 9, 2006) – US SAILING's 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and skipper Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and her crew, Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) won the bronze medal at the Yngling Women’s World Championship, held June 30 – July 8 in La Rochelle, France. Two other US Sailing Team-members, skippered by Hannah Swett (New York, N.Y.) and Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) secured solid top team positions, finishing fifth and seventh place respectively.

Heading into the regatta as the defending world champions, Barkow, Capozzi, and Howe defeated 34 teams to win the bronze medal on Saturday, finishing behind teams from Spain and Germany. The team led by Barkow started the event strong, with a number-one lead after the first day of sailing. On the second day, the British team climbed past them to take the overall lead before a thunderstorm washed out racing for the rest of the day. On the final day of racing, the Spanish team finished with equal points to their German rivals, but they won thanks to their two bullets earlier in the championship. The British team was disqualified in the final race, which caused them to slip to an overall fourth place.

"It worked out in our favor. I think we had a pretty tough week," said Barkow. "We stuck together as a team to get the result we wanted in the end."

Ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team in the Yngling class, Barkow and her crew were named US SAILING’s 2005 Team of the Year after winning eight major regattas, including two World Championships. Skipper Sally Barkow was also named US SAILING's 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. In 2006, Barkow, Capozzi, and Howe claimed gold medals at the French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyères, France, HRH Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR in Miami, Fla.

The American team skippered by the 2003 US SAILING Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Hannah Swett with crew Liz Filter (Stevensville, Md.) and Melissa Purdy (Tiburon, Calif.) finished only six points behind Team 7 to place fifth, while skipper Carol Cronin and her crew, Kimberly Couranz and Margaret Podlich (both Annapolis, Md.), finished seventh.

US Sailing Team High Performance Director and Head Coach Gary Bodie served as the team leader and coach. Drawing more than 79 teams for both the Open and Women races, the Yngling World Championships is ranked as a Grade W event by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

For complete results from the Yngling World Championship, including results from the other US Sailing Team-members who competed in the event, please visit the event website at www.srr-sailing.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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