US Sailing Team at London 2012 - Day 6: A day of mixed results
by Dana Paxton, US Sailing 3 Aug 2012 22:24 BST
3 August 2012
A very busy day of racing in Weymouth and Portland for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team brought mixed results. The day saw the debut of Women’s 470 team Amanda Clark and Sarah Lihan, who are in 4th overall; the advance to the Star medal race for Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih; and an end of the regatta for Finn sailor Zach Railey.
US standings to date: Erik Storck 10th in 49er; Paige Railey 9th in Laser Radial; Rob Crane 26th in Laser; and Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl 11th in Men’s 470. Today was a scheduled reserve day for Men’s and Women’s RS:X Windsurfing and Women’s Match Racing.
Finn – Zach Railey
With two final races available for Zach Railey to secure a top-10 position in the Men’s Dinghy Heavy (Finn), it was not meant to be for the 2008 Olympic silver medalist. His scores of 12th and 19th put him into 12th overall for the regatta.
“The goal was to compete for a medal,” said Railey after racing. “After the first couple of races where things hadn’t gone my way, we knew we had to start taking more risk on the racecourse to give myself a chance. Obviously, when you start taking more risk there’s more reward and more downside. This week hasn’t gone the way we planned. We prepared well. We feel good about the preparation going into this. I take a lot of pride in preparing for big events. To not do well here is very upsetting. There are a lot of people who helped me get here and supported me, and I’d like to thank them.”
Star – Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih
Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih advanced to the Men’s Keelboat (Star) medal race with an overall standing of 6th in the 10-race series. The first of two races was a strong addition to the score line. They finished third ahead of the series current leaders from Great Britain, Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson. “We like conditions of 8-11 knots or really windy,” said Fatih explaining that the lighter wind is more to their liking. “It’s (the) in between that we don’t really like.” The second race was held in moderate wind and the team finished in 11th.
Aug 4 is a reserve day and the medal race is scheduled for Aug 5.
49er - Erik Storck and Trevor Moore
The busiest of days took place in the Men’s Skiff (49er) with three scheduled races. Erik Storck and Trevor Moore turned in 2-17-5 to climb into 10th overall. After a reserve day on Aug. 4, four races remain on Aug. 5-6 in the 15-race series.
Laser Radial – Paige Railey
Paige Railey finished the day in 9th overall, and has two races left in the 10-race series to secure a top-10 position, and a spot in the medal race in the Women’s One Person Dinghy (Laser Radial).
Laser – Rob Crane
In the Men’s One Person Dinghy (Laser), Rob Crane is in 26th overall with two races remaining. Crane had his best result of the regatta in race 8 with a score of 8th.
“The way the regatta has gone so far has been a disappointment,” said Crane. “Yesterday was a rest day and my energy felt better. Tomorrow, I want to have the best day I can and move up in the placings.”
Men’s 470 – Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl
Working to improve their overall ranking in the men’s two person dinghy (Men’s 470), Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) scored a 10th in race 3 and 3rd in race 4. Today’s races improved their overall standing to 11th overall.
“We had a much better idea of the wind today than we did yesterday and we were able to execute throughout the race,” said Biehl. “The fleet is really challenging in the Men’s 470. We had a bit of a rough day yesterday. Just getting back into the swing and making sure our consistency is back up there is the key to getting the medals.”
The 10-race series continues through Aug 7, with the medal race scheduled for Aug 9.
Women’s 470 – Amanda Clark and Sarah Lihan
Women’s Two Person Dinghy (Women’s 470) debuted in competition with two races at the Olympic Sailing Regatta. ’08 Olympian Amanda Clark and crew Sarah Lihan collected finishes of 7th and 3rd.
“We had a beneficial forecast, it was advantageous for us,” said Lihan of first day’s conditions. “It didn’t actually materialize, which was disappointing, but we were happy to go out and get two top 10s. We have done a lot of sailing over the past year and a half. It was great to get the silver medal at Sail for Gold against the Olympic fleet. Our mantra here: to do what we know how to do.”
They are now in 5th overall in the 20-boat fleet, tied on points with the fourth-placed boat from The Netherlands (Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout), and three points out of first.
“It’s great to start out in the top and we’ll work hard to stay there,” said Clark.
The 10-race series continues through Aug 8 with the medal race scheduled for Aug 10.
At the Helm – Dean Brenner’s daily blog for Aug 3
For an insider’s view of the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, tune in to Team Leader Dean Brenner’s daily blog “At the Helm.” Each morning, Brenner will give a perspective honed from eight years of leading the U.S. Olympic program. Aug 3 blog is here.
Upcoming racing
Aug 4 will see racing continue in Laser, Laser Radial, Men’s and Women’s 470, while racing will resume in the Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing, and Women’s Match Racing. It is a scheduled reserve day for Finn, 49er and Star.
For more information, please visit us at www.ussailing.org