USA qualifies for 10 Olympic Classes

by Marni H Lane on 17 Jul 2007 After two weeks of competitive racing and challenging conditions in Cascais, Portugal, the 2007 US Sailing Team wrapped up a successful ISAF Sailing World Championships with 10 Olympic berths, a silver medal and six top-ten finishes. Top performances by the team qualified the United States for spots at the 2008 Olympic Games in the following 10 classes: Finn, 470 Men and Women, 49er, Laser, Laser Radial, RS:X Men, Star, Tornado and Yngling.

'We're very pleased to have qualified the USA in 10 events,' said US SAILING's High Performance Director Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.). 'We're confident we'll qualify the RS:X Women at the 2008 World Championship,' where sailors will also be able to qualify for Olympic berths.

Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayview, N.Y.), also known as 'Team 7,' won a silver medal in the 25-boat Yngling fleet Wednesday. Team 7 has stood on the podium at the last three Yngling World Championships, confirming their position among the most competitive teams in their class. For skipper Barkow and her crew, this silver medal is the latest in a long list of medals this year, including gold at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR in January, gold at the Princess Sofia Trophy in April and silver at Semaine Olympique Française de Voile (French Sailing Week) in April.

'Sally's team has been on the podium in nearly every event this year,' said Bodie. 'Undoubtedly, Sally's team and Great Britain's Sarah Ayton's team are the favorites for 2008.' Barkow and Ayton continue to battle for top scores at every major regatta.

Other USST members who achieved top-ten finishes are:

· 49er: Morgan Larson (Capitola, Calif.) and Pete Spaulding (Santa Cruz, Calif.) finished fifth in a 81-boat fleet;

· Laser Radial: Anna Tunnicliffe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished fifth in a 112-boat fleet;

· 470 Men: Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) finished 10th in a 114-boat fleet;

· 470 Women: Erin Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, NY) finished 10th in a 67-boat fleet;

· Tornado: Johnny Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, Tex.) finished 10th in a 49-boat fleet.

For complete results, photos and news, please visit the official event web site: http://www.cascaisworlds2007.com/

For a full list of the American competitors and their hometowns, please visit: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/ISAF Sailing World Championships_USA_Entry List.pdf

The 2008 Olympic Games are scheduled for August 8-24, 2008, in Beijing, China. The Olympic Sailing Competition will be held in Qingdao, a coastal city located 430 miles southeast of Beijing.

www.ussailing.org