Rolex Miami OCR - Medals for USSTAG team members + Video

by Dana Paxton on 29 Jan 2012 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics won one gold, two silver and one bronze medals on the concluding day of US Sailing’s 2012 Rolex Miami OCR; gold in the Finn class, silver in Women’s RS:X and 49er and bronze in the Women’s Match Racing.

The regatta was capped off with the final medal race, a double-points race to determine overall medalists where USSTAG won four of the medal races.

Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) could do no wrong this week, winning the medal race and securing his first ISAF Sailing World Cup gold medal.

'Yesterday I was able to put myself into a good situation before the medal race,' said Railey. 'I definitely knew there would be some pressure from the Danish sailor. We were locked into a really tight match race right before the start, I was able to break away before the start and sail my own race.'

After a somewhat disappointing World Championship last month in Australia, Railey refocused and came back stronger.

'That was the goal going in; I wanted to capitalize on the week, and go out in a dominating fashion for the week. Getting that goal accomplished is definitely a huge plus for us. It’s been a great week. I’ll be very honest. I was disappointed with the World Championships. I had a black flag in the third race. I really had to change the way I approach my regattas. I wanted to come here and show that all of the training we’ve putting in is paying off. We worked a lot on boat speed and technical set up. We really want to try and start putting it together and performing at
black flag was my fault. I had to switch my focus and match the other USA boat.'

USSTAG’s Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) finished fifth in the medal race for fifth overall.

Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla.) won the 49er medal race and catapulted themselves into silver-medal position. 'I was really tight at the finish and we’ve been working hard on our finishes,' said Storck. 'We kept it deep and snuck in there for the win.'

In a strong ending to the Laser Radial series, Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) won the medal race and with it moved into eighth overall for the regatta. 'My goal for this regatta was focusing on some techniques that I need to improve on before Weymouth,' said Railey. 'My coach Luther and I have a list of things to work on moving forward.'

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) won her first medal at a Women’s RS:X windsurfing ISAF Sailing World Cup event. With a fifth in the medal race, she captured a podium silver medal.

In Women’s Match Racing, Sally Barkow’s (Nashotah, Wis.) Team 7 Match Race of Alanna O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and Elizabeth Kratzig (Miami, Fla.) defeated Silje Lentinen (FIN) in straight matches in the petit final to win a bronze medal.

In the US Paralympic Team Trials, Jen French and JP Creignou (both St. Petersburg, Fla.) secured the bronze in the SKUD-18 and with it the Team Trials. They join Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.) in the 2.4mR, and Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla./Newport R.I.), Tom Brown (Castine, Me.) and Bradley Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) in the Sonar.

A full announcement on the US Paralympic Team will be made in the next few days.



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