Zach Railey finishes 5th in the Finn class

2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) finished a strong second place in the final medal race to put him into 5th overall for the event.

With a premium put on a successful start and first upwind leg due to a smaller racecourse used in the medal race, Railey described how his pre-race strategy paid off. “Before the race, we felt the left-hand side was favored, but pin end was relative favored. I wanted to make sure I had a great start off the line and get to the left.”

He executed the plan and halfway up the first beat when the wind shifted, he had to hold onto the left side a little longer than he had hoped, but still rounded the mark in fourth place. “From there, it was between me and three other boats for 5th overall. One of them, Ed Wright, was in front of me and two were in 9th or 10th, so I know the race was on.”

Railey went on to pass Wright (GBR) downwind and took a chance on the next upwind leg to round ahead and finished the race in second. “I was up and down all week, and overall we definitely think we improved. The fleet sailing here is a lot deeper than any other events we’ve been in, so to get a top five shows that we’re doing well.”



(ussailing.com)