US Sailing Team Wins Gold, Bronze at
Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta in Spain

Portsmouth, R.I. (April 6, 2007) – For the second year in a row, the USA Yngling team of Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.), Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) won the 2007 Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. In a competitive fleet of 36 entries, Barkow and her team battled fluky and frustrating conditions to ultimately finish in first place today, ahead of the British team led by Sarah Ayton. In the 470 Women’s class, fellow US Sailing Team members Erin Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.) secured third place in a fleet of 71 entries. This event was the first of several major European regattas that the US Sailing Team and other top Olympic contenders will compete at this spring.

The major theme surrounding this year’s Princess Sofia Trophy was the challenging conditions and wicked weather. For several days this week, rain showers and little wind led to delayed starts or cancelled races, leaving competitors stranded, cold and unhappy. “The regatta had very trying conditions this year, yet the US Sailing Team had a great showing with two medals,” said High Performance Director and Head Coach Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.).

“I am proud of the way we handled such tricky conditions,” said Carrie Howe. “It was a long week of unexpected changes, and it was hard to stay on top of everything. We just kept fighting and making up for unlucky moments and capitalizing on lucky moments.” On Thursday, during the ninth race, the team adapted quickly when two cruise ships plowed through their course in the middle of a rain shower, and they were trapped in the destructive wake. “We gambled and sailed the opposite jibe, split and gained 15 boats on the last run. It was a regatta saver.”

“Sally, Debbie and Carrie battled back against some tough breaks," added Bodie. This is only the second time Barkow’s team has competed at the Princess Sofia Trophy, and both times have resulted in wins.

Maxwell and Kinsolving’s third-place finish exceeded their expectations, after only quitting their full-time jobs two weeks ago to pursue their Olympic sailing campaign. “We did not know what to expect going into the event, since many of the other teams have been doing much more training than us. We were pleased with our consistency in a variety of conditions,” said Kinsolving.

Queen Sofia, who the regatta is named after, will present the trophies to the top three winners in each of the 11 Olympic classes, as well as the Dragon class, tonight at the Palacio de Congresos del Pueblo Espanol in Palma de Mallorca.

The Princess Sofia Trophy, which included five days of racing culminating with today’s medal races, is one of six regattas in the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Cup Series for Olympic classes. For complete results, including the final standings of the other US Sailing Team members who competed in the event, please visit the event website at www.trofeoprincesasofia.org.

For Barkow and her team, this major win launches their European regatta tour this spring. They will stay in Palma for another week to train with their coach James Lyne, and then they will travel to Hyères, France to prepare for Semaine Olympique Française de Voile (French Sailing Week), which begins April 19.

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

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