Pictured: Laser Radial Medalists, World Cup Series Hyères 2018. From left: Monika Mikkola (FIN), Marit Bouwmeester (NED), Paige Railey (USA). Photo: World Sailing.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2018
Hyères, France – US Sailing Team athlete and two-time Olympian Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) took home the bronze medal in the Laser Radial at World Cup Series Hyères 2018. Railey recently committed to campaigning for Tokyo 2020 in the women’s one-person dinghy, in which she has enjoyed a long and successful career at the international level. The Floridian sailor was near the top of the elite 64-boat fleet all week in France, winning three races in the 10-race qualifying round before finishing 8th in Sunday’s medal race. 2017 US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) also made the medal race in the Radial, and finished 6th overall.
“The medal race was a bit crazy. I thought I was over the [starting] line early so I [re-started],” said Railey, “I just climbed back into it, and instead of getting stressed out about medals I just focused on one moment at a time, kept hiking, and just kept sailing hard.”
Railey has only been active in Olympic class sailing for about six weeks in the last 20 months since the Rio 2016 Olympics concluded, and said that her results in Hyères were personally encouraging. “I decided to campaign for Tokyo [2020] because I’ve achieved almost everything you can achieve in the Radial. The last missing piece is an Olympic gold medal. If I can secure that, I think I can walk away saying I’ve done everything you can do in this boat,” said Railey, a record five-time Laser Radial World Championship medalist.
Pictured: Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), 2017 US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Photo: World Sailing.
US Sailing Team Laser Radial athletes have been working with a new coach since 2017, 2004 Olympian and Star class world and European champion Steve Mitchell (Toronto, Canada). “Coach Steve has been a key person for me this year,” said Railey. I’ve been fighting an uphill battle since I decided to come back. There were some physical setbacks, but he set up a process and keeps me sticking to it.”
Railey and Reineke have been training partners under Mitchell, as the US Sailing Team continues to emphasize a team-centric development model under Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I). “Erika and I agreed to be training partners after I got back into the boat,” continued Railey. “We’ve had great chemistry and are pushing each other. The hard work is paying off, and it’s great to have two Americans in the top six at a World Cup event. We want American Laser Radials to be a force to be reckoned with.”
US RESULTS: WORLD CUP SERIES HYÈRES 2018
49er (Men’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff):
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20th overall, Andrew Mollerus and Ian MacDiarmid (USA)
49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff):
- 11th overall, Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.)
Laser (Men’s One-Person Dinghy):
- 19th overall, Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.)
- 22nd overall, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
- 27th overall, Henry Marshall (USA)
Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy):
- 3rd overall, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
- 6th overall, Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
- 54th overall, Haddon Hughes (Houston, Texas)
Men’s 470 (Men’s Two-Person Dinghy):
- 15th overall, Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
Women’s 470 (Women’s Two-Person Dinghy):
- 22nd overall, Atlantic Brugman and Nora Brugman (Miami, Fla.)
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35th overall, Madeleine Rice and Laura Slovensky (USA)
- 36th overall, Alison Knoles and Audrey Franchett (USA)
Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull):
- 15th overall, Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.)
- 22nd overall, Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)
About the US Sailing Team
The US Sailing Team is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. US Sailing Team sponsors include gold partner Helly Hansen, silver partners Harken, McLube, and Groupe Beneteau, and supplier Marlow Ropes. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org