2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta - USA Team Day Five Review
by Derby Anderson, US Sailing 13 Aug 2008 14:15 BST
9-21 August 2008
USA wins six races
Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.) and Chris Rast (San Diego, Calif.) built a picket fence with scores of 1, 1, 1 in today’s 49er races. The pair entered the day in 13th overall and had finished no better than fifth in the first six races, but they rebounded to sweep the day.
Rast is competing in his third Olympics and ranked today as his “best ever!” He said, “It feels great to get back on track.” After a tough start to the regatta, they benefitted from
yesterday’s day off, taking the time to talk to mentors like Star coach
Hans Wallen (SWE) and Rules Advisor Dave Perry (Southport, Conn.).
Wadlow explained, “We needed a day to chill out, reflect and come back
with a new attitude. Now we’re just going to take every race as it comes
and give it our best shot.” The first two 49er races were officially
reported as with two to three knot breezes, but Rast said it felt more
like four. Rast and Wadlow said they owed a little bit of today’s
success to the wind gods, so maybe that’s why it felt like four knots to
them and no one else. Wadlow and Rast have now moved up to fifth place
overall in the 19-boat fleet.
Wadlow and Rast weren’t the only ones to top the charts today, as the
USA had bullets in three other classes. Team Leader Dean Brenner
(Wallingford, Conn.) mentioned the USA’s six race wins today to
American-born New Zealand coach Rod Davis, who said, “I don’t know if
that’s ever happened!”
Yngling, Finn, Lasers and Laser Radials were delayed for wind today, and
were only able to complete one race. In the Laser class, Andrew Campbell
(San Diego, Calif.) led the whole way around the course in five knots.
When asked if winning a race at the Olympics felt different than winning
any other race, Campbell replied, “It’s just as nerve wracking.” He
continued, “I always had the confidence and knew I could win races at
the Olympics. Now this confirms it’s actually true.”
USA supporters also knew the Yngling team of Sally Barkow (Nashotah,
Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse, Pointe, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport,
N.Y.) could win races, and they pulled one out today. Skipper Sally
Barkow said, “We took the day off to relax and refocus on our decision
making and preparation.” Barkow felt faster today but said, “If you look
at the scores it’s anybody’s game.”
Men’s 470 sailors Stu McNay (Lincoln, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San
Diego, Calif.) won their second race by over a minute and a half. McNay
said, “I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to win a medal here just
by looking at the guys in our fleet and all the talented people on the
USA team.” Biehl said it felt great to win an Olympic race in front of
the cameras, knowing people were watching from around the world.
Upon hitting the dock and hearing of the success of her teammates, Anna
Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) joked, “I must have messed up!”
Tunnicliffe finished sixth today and is still winning the 28-boat Laser
Radial fleet, now by seven points. She was back in 10th place on her
first lap, and said with an exhausted smile, “It was light, and really
tough. I had to fight back hard.” When asked if she was happy, she just
said, “I’m happy it’s over! You know when you’re behind some boats and
your hands start shaking and you wonder, ‘Am I going to pass them?’ I
really had to breathe and calm myself down.” Tunnicliffe passed all but
one boat in that pack had that made her so nervous.
Finn phenom Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) finished seventh today and
maintains his second place standing in the Finn fleet. He sits six
points behind first place and five points ahead of third. Railey said he
had a “disastrous first downwind” and he had to calm himself down after
he sailed into a hole. As someone who does not like to take risks, he
calculated a big move on the last upwind, which brought him back up from
a throwout race to an acceptable 7th.
Women’s 470 sailors Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah
Mergenthaler (New York, N.Y.) sailed their best and worst races today.
They ran a great first race in fourth place, but were disappointed by
their 17th place finish in race two. They stay in 14th place overall.
Almost all members of the team were both exhausted and exhilarated at
the end of such a successful day. Many of them mentioned the serious
challenge of sailing in Qingdao and the nerves that come with these
tight races, and they smiled and cheered as they learned of each other’s
strong performances.