Zach Railey Wins Silver at the 2008 Olympic Games
Qingdao, China (August, 17, 2008) – Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) has won the silver medal in the Finn class at the 2008 Olympic Games by finishing in fifth place in today’s medal race. In addition to the final race for the Finn class, the 49er and Yngling fleets held their last races as well. In the 49er, Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.) and Chris Rast (San Diego, Calif.) were unable to finish their final race due to an equipment breakdown. The USA is out of medal contention in that class, but there is a protest pending which affects the medal positions, so no medal ceremony was held this evening pending final results. In the Yngling class, Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) finished in tenth place in the double-points medal race, and finished seventh overall. Railey sailed a consistent regatta, never falling below second place since racing started eight day ago. After today's race, he said, “I came here to stand on the podium. My goal was to get a medal. Now it’s a big relief and I’m proud to win a medal for the United States. It feels amazing. All of that hard work was worth that moment [of winning] and I just wish it had lasted a little longer!” He concluded, “I’ll have to come back in 2012 and do it again.” Railey said about his thoughts going into today's race, “Eight to ten guys here could make it to the podium, and I knew I was one of those eight to ten guys.” Railey’s coach, Kenneth Andreasen, said, “Everything came together and we peaked at the right time. That’s not a coincidence. We trained for this and had a very detailed plan.” After he was awarded his silver medal with its jade inner ring, Railey gave his flowers to his mother. Wrapped in an American flag, he walked into the press conference. During the conference, gold medalist Ben Ainslie said of Railey’s performance, “Zach was consistent. He made life very difficult for me. So very well sailed.”
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