FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Derby Anderson
443-822-6393
DerbyAnderson@ussailing.org
US Sailing
Team AlphaGraphics Members Win
Three Silver Medals at French Olympic Sailing Week
Portsmouth, R.I. (April 27, 2008) – After six
days of racing at the French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyères, France, sailors
from the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics clinched silver medals in three
classes. Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.) and Chris Rast (San Diego, Calif.) in
the 49er, Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) in the Laser Radial, and
Yngling Team Seven of Sally Barkow (Nashotah,
Wis.), Carrie Howe, (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport,
N.Y.) all stood on the podium after Friday’s light and shifty medal race.
As the teams prepare to head to the Olympic Games in Qingdao, China, they
have been losing weight and training for the predicted light air regatta in
August. All had hoped Hyères would serve as a good training ground for
Qingdao-like breezes, but the first three days of the regatta were dogged by
heavy winds and big waves. By the medal race, though, the sailors finally
found what they were looking for.
Team Seven had the most impressive finish Friday with a first-place bullet
in the final race. That was their second win of the series, and it gave them
the edge on the tiebreaker with Great Britain’s Yngling team of Sarah Ayton,
Pippa Wilson and Sarah Webb. Ayton’s team most recently won Yngling European
Championship, so Team Seven must be pleased to be rising in the results as
the season continues. Norwegian Yngling sailors Siren Sundby, Lise
Fredriksen, Alexandra Koefoed won the 20-boat fleet by seven points.
In the 49er, Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast had been leading going into today’s
racing, but after a fifth place in the medal race they lost a tiebreaker and
fell second to Xabier Fernandez and Iker Martinez of Spain. Impressively
consistent, Wadlow and Rast were the only 49er duo to earn all top ten
finishes among the 41 boats in the eleven-race series.
Anna Tunnicliffe clung to second place in the Laser Radial class, with the
2007 International Sailing Federation's Rolex World Sailor of the Year
nominee Evi Van Ecker of Belgium only one point behind in the final
standings. Over the nine-race series, Tunnicliffe’s worst score was only an
eleventh. She had the lowest dropped score in the 78-boat class. Sarah
Blanck of Australia earned first place and finished all but one race in the
top four.
With just over three months to the Olympics in Qingdao, the US Sailing Team
AlphaGraphics members use the French Olympic Sailing Week in Hyères as an
important benchmark in their training. American representatives in almost
every class finished in the top 15 of this competitive regatta and for these
three teams, silver medals make a good prognosis for racing in China.
About the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics
The US Sailing Team Alphagraphics recognizes the top three teams in all
Olympic and Paralympic classes. The top athlete in each class is also a
member of the U.S. Olympic Team for Sailing. The US Sailing Team
AlphaGraphics is managed by US SAILING, national governing body of the
sport. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides
leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. 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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