FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marni Lane, US SAILING, 617-671-8332
MarniLane@ussailing.org
USA Wins Gold, Silver at 2007 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships
Portsmouth, R.I. (July 22,
2007) – American sailors won two impressive medals at the 2007 Volvo Youth
Sailing ISAF World Championships in Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Emily
Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.) will
bring home a gold medal in the 29er Girls class, while Anne Haeger (Lake
Forest, Ill.) secured silver in the Laser Radial.
After a week of single-digit scores, including five bullets, the new Youth
World champions won the 18-boat 29er Girls fleet with a race to spare, after
the second to last day of racing was called due to thunder, lightning and
light, variable winds, and they didn’t race on the final day. Their exciting
win is still sinking in: “It didn’t really hit me at first,” said skipper
Dellenbaugh. “I was a little shocked. I didn’t think it was real.”
The 29er Girls fleet stayed tight throughout the week, but Provancha said
their speed helped them pull in front of the fleet, allowing them the
wide-open space to cross and tack. Going into the regatta, their goal was to
place in the top five. After winning the first race and seeing their goal was
within reach, “we really wanted to medal,” said Provancha, who claimed a
silver medal in the 420 Girls class with crew Megan Magill in Busan, Korea two
years ago.
Next up for the American duo is the 29er European Championship in Gottskar,
Sweden from August 6-12, 2007, which they expect will be a fun regatta. “It
will be cool to travel and see Sweden,” said Provancha, who will attend Boston
College as a freshman in the fall. Dellenbaugh will finish her senior year at
Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Conn. She plans to return to the Youth
Worlds next summer, but unfortunately not with Provancha, who will no longer
fulfill the age requirement. “It’s going to be hard to replace Briana and
return, knowing we won the year before.”
In the Laser Radial class, Haeger won a silver medal in the competitive
34-boat fleet, behind Australia’s Gabrielle King. A member of US SAILING’s US
Elite Youth Development Team, she proved her prowess in lighter winds, as well
as impressive boat speed. Earlier this summer, she also won a silver medal at
the Laser North American Championships in Hyannis, Mass., and finished sixth
at the Laser Midwinters East in Clearwater, Fla.
In addition to the medalists, the members of US SAILING’s US Youth World Team
showed strong performances last week. The Californian duo of Oliver Toole
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Willie McBride (San Diego, Calif.) secured sixth
in a 23-boat 29er Boys fleet. Hobie sailors Eric Raybon and Jason Bilow, both
from Shrewsbury, N.J. came in eighth out of 15 boats. Luke Lawrence (Palm
City, Fla.), who is also a member of the US Elite Youth Development Team,
finished 11th out of a large 82-boat Laser fleet. Windsurfer James Sobeck
(East Quogue, N.Y.) came in 16th out of 20 in the RS:X Boys class.
In addition to the fleet winners, Australia won the Volvo Trophy this year,
with an overall high score of 259 points, in front of second place Denmark
(248 points) and third place New Zealand (230 points). USA came in seventh
place overall. The prestigious Trophy and Medals were awarded at the closing
ceremonies Friday night. “There’s nothing more wonderful than to stand on the
podium and hear your anthem with pride and respect,” said Provancha.
More than 220 of the world's best young sailors from 52 nations competed for
seven gold medals in the following classes: singlehanded Laser (boys) and
Laser Radial (girls), doublehanded 29er (boys and girls), RS:X windsurfer
(boys and girls) and multihull Hobie 16 with spinnaker (open). Home of the
1976 Olympic Sailing Competition, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour hosted the
regatta from July 12-21. Next year’s Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World
Championships will be held in Arhus, Denmark from July 10 – 19, 2008.
For more information on the US Youth World Team, please visit:
www.ussailing.org/olympics/youthworlds/2007/team.asp
For complete results and photos from the 2007 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World
Championship, please visit the event web site:
www.youthworlds2007.org.
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.
(End)
Marni H. Lane
Press Officer, US Sailing Teams
US SAILING
Cell: 617.671.8332
www.ussailing.org