CLEARWATER, Fla. - When Zach Railey won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in China, his elation was tempered because his sister Paige, also a world-class sailor, had narrowly missed making the U.S. team.

But this time around, the seafaring siblings from Clearwater, Fla., have both scored a berth at the 2012 Olympic Games in England. They qualified in December during the International Sailing Federation's Sailing World Championships in Perth, Australia.

"We both understand how fortunate we are to have this opportunity -- and this responsibility," said Zach, 27.

He'll be sailing a Finn, a men's single-handed heavyweight dinghy, and she'll be competing in the lighter-weight Laser Radial class during the games, which will run from July 27 to Aug. 12. The 10 Olympic sailing events -- six for men, four for women -- feature a variety of craft from windsurfing boards to keelboats.

Although the event is billed as the London Olympics, the sailing races will take place in Weymouth and Portland, where the conditions could be blustery, rainy and cold.

"There are huge weather systems that come through there," Zach said.

Whatever challenges come, the pair say they're prepared, mentally and physically.

A typical day may include morning and afternoon workouts in a gym, several more hours of training on the water, sponsor obligations, interviews, fundraising activities and, often, travel.

It will cost Zach about $170,000 to get to the Olympics. Paige will require just more than $100,000 -- less because her boat and equipment aren't as expensive. The U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics contributes about a third of their costs, and the sailors have to raise the balance on their own.
It's all not quite as glamorous as some might imagine, they say.

"This is a job with little time for anything else," said Paige, 24. "It consumes your entire life. People think we travel all over, but in reality, no matter what country you're in, you see the same scenery all the time: the gym and the yacht club."

"I've been to France 15 times, but I've never toured the Eiffel Tower," Zach said. "Wherever we go, we're there to race and compete."

At age 8, Zach learned to sail on tiny Optimist Prams at the Clearwater Yacht Club and the Clearwater Community Sailing Center. He loved horsing around out there, picking up crab pots and feeling free out on the sparkling Florida waters.

Paige and her twin sister, Brooke, soon followed suit.

By age 10, Zach had qualified for the Optimist World Championships in Finland. At 16, he made the U.S. Sailing Team.

Brooke opted for other sports, but Paige experienced a meteoric rise to the top and joined the U.S. team at 17. She's been a formidable competitor in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Series and was ranked No. 1 when she graduated from high school in 2005.

One might assume the duo grew up in a family of salts. But parents Ann and Dan Railey never learned how to sail.

During Zach's and Paige's years at Clearwater High School, there was no time for proms and parties. Competitive schedules meant hitting the gym before the crack of dawn, sailing in the afternoon, and doing homework late at night.

Then there were choices about which college trajectory to take.

"There comes a time when every serious sailor has to decide whether they want to take the collegiate track or the Olympic track," Paige said, "and we chose the Olympics, which meant lots and lots of training and picking a college that will work with you."

Paige selected the University of South Florida and Zach went to the University of Miami, where the U.S. Sailing Center Miami has an official Olympic training center.

Paige lost her Olympic bid in 2007 when her life jacket caught the boom, capsizing her boat during the qualifying medal race. Now Paige says she's older, wiser, more experienced and up for the challenge.

"When I was younger, I couldn't handle the pressure. Now I really enjoy it," she said.

And should they win the gold and be invited to appear on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," as some previous Olympians have, they're always up for new challenges.

"It would be awesome," said Zach.


(shns.com)

CLEARWATER When Zach Railey won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in China, his elation was tempered because his sister Paige, also a world class sailor, had narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic team.

But this time around, the seafaring siblings from Clearwater have both scored a berth at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in England. They qualified in December during the International Sailing Federation's (ISAF) Sailing World Championships in Perth, Australia.

"We both understand how fortunate we are to have this opportunity — and this responsibility," said Zach, 27.

He'll be sailing a Finn, a men's single-handed heavyweight dinghy, and she'll be competing in the lighter-weight Laser Radial class during the games, which will run from July 27 to Aug. 12. The 10 Olympic sailing events — six for men, four for women — feature a variety of craft from windsurfing boards to keelboats.

Although this is billed as the London Olympics, the sailing races will take place in Weymouth and Portland, England, a venue where the conditions could be blustery, rainy and cold.

"There are huge weather systems that come through there," Zach said.

Whatever challenges the elements and the competition invoke, the pair say they're well prepared, both mentally and physically.

A typical day may include a morning and afternoon workout in a gym, several more hours of training on the water, sponsor obligations, interviews, fundraising activities and, often, travel.

It will cost Zach about $170,000 to get to the Olympics. Paige will require just over $100,000 — less because her boat and equipment aren't as expensive. The U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics contributes about a third of their costs, and the sailors have to raise the balance on their own.
It's all not quite as glamorous as some might imagine, they say.

"This is a job with little time for anything else," said Paige, 24. "It consumes your entire life. People think we travel all over, but in reality, no matter what country you're in, you see the same scenery all the time: the gym and the yacht club."

"I've been to France 15 times, but I've never toured the Eiffel Tower," said Zach. "Wherever we go, we're there to race and compete."

At age 8, Zach learned to sail on tiny Optimist Prams at the Clearwater Yacht Club and the Clearwater Community Sailing Center. He loved horsing around out there, picking up crab pots and feeling free out on the sparkling Florida waters.

Paige and her twin sister, Brooke, soon followed suit.

By age 10, Zach had qualified for the Optimist World Championships in Finland. At 16, he made the U.S. Sailing Team.

Likewise, Paige experienced a meteoric rise to the top and joined the U.S. team at 17. She's been a formidable competitor in the ISAF Sailing World Cup Series and was ranked No. 1 when she graduated from high school in 2005.

One of her biggest motivations for racing success?

"I didn't want to be known as 'Zach's little sister,' " she said. "And, I wanted to beat the boys."

Considering their accomplishments, one might assume the duo grew up in a family of salts. But parents Ann and Dan Railey never learned how to sail.

During Zach and Paige's years at Clearwater High School, there was no time for proms and parties. Competitive schedules meant hitting the gym before the crack of dawn, sailing in the afternoon, and homework late at night.

Paige's sister, Brooke, on the other hand, followed the more traditional path, branching out with softball, cheerleading and sorority life.
Then there were choices about which college trajectory to take.

"There comes a time when every serious sailor has to decide whether they want to take the collegiate track or the Olympic track," Paige said, "and we chose the Olympics, which meant lots and lots of training and picking a college that will work with you."

Paige selected the University of South Florida and Zach went to the University of Miami, where the U.S. Sailing Center Miami has an official Olympic training center.

Paige lost her Olympic bid in 2007 when her life jacket caught the boom, capsizing her boat during the qualifying medal race. It was sailor Anna Tunnicliffe who would go on to win the gold medal for the UnitedStates in the Laser Radial class. Now Paige says she's older, wiser, more experienced and up for the challenge.

"When I was younger, I couldn't handle the pressure. Now I really enjoy it," she said. To de-stress, she says she takes three deep meditative breaths and tells herself to get on with the win.

Then there's the other trick.

"It's motivating, too, to think that your competitors are more nervous than you," Paige said.

Zach has his own rituals.

"I always wear my University of Miami hat. I have a secret song I listen to. I don't shave during the regatta until the night before the medal race."

And should they win the gold and be invited to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars like some previous Olympians, they're always up for new challenges.

"It would be awesome," said Zach.


(tampabay.com)

Scroll to the 5-minute mark.

A number of sailors had outstanding results and breakout performances at last week’s US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR. However, no sailor was as dominant as Finn sailor Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Railey cruised through 11 races in the 25-boat Finn class and won by an 18-point margin. He won six races and finished the regatta with nothing worse than a third-place result in any race. US Sailing caught up with the 2008 Olympic silver medalist following last week’s ISAF Sailing World Cup event to discuss the win and his training leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in Weymouth, England. 

US Sailing: How did it feel to win your first ever gold medal in an ISAF Sailing World Cup event?
Railey: It was great to get the first one, and to do it in the U.S. and in Miami where I spent a considerable amount of time training and racing was extra special. I sailed at the University of Miami, so it’s always nice to get a win here. It means a lot to me because I was able to have my family here to share the moment with. Of course my sister Paige is here competing, and my parents were able to come down for the final day of racing.

US Sailing: Are you satisfied with how you are competing now as we approach the Olympics this summer?
Railey: I think we’ve put together a solid overall plan to get me prepared for Weymouth. We are on schedule, if not ahead of schedule with six months to go. We also understand that there is a long list of things that need to get done. That’s one of the important things about knowing that this is a four year process. You have to continually get better all the time. One of the hardest things to do is to take a few steps back before you can take steps forward. For us, we are not afraid to change things and experiment to see if we can get better. Hopefully everything comes together for the Olympics. We feel confident about what we are doing.

US Sailing: What type of experimenting are you doing with your preparation?
Railey: We are experimenting with everything, including on the technical side, with different sails, cloth materials, sail shapes, panel layouts, mast characteristics, how we sail the boat, our technique, decisions on the race course. It really never ends. We also experiment with our physical fitness by making sure we are at the correct weight, with a focus on weight distribution, body fat percentages, nutritional combinations of what I am eating on the water versus off the water, what I am eating before a race, post race, during a race. The list is exhausting. We are constantly working on things and checking them off the list. The goal is to have everything covered in six months for the Olympics.

US Sailing: Discuss your training regimen and what goes into the decisions you make to be at your best physically?
Railey: We’ve been working hard with our performance enhancement team. Chris Herrera from Bow Down Training has put together a great program. Right now we do cardio sessions in the morning. During the regatta, cardio is very light if we do any. It depends on how heavy the wind is forecasted that day. If we expect heavy wind, we won’t have a morning cardio session. After I sail, we debrief, get something to eat, and go to gym for a couple hours. There is one more big event this year and that’s the Olympics, so we understand that if we have a six or seven day event, we know that it is six or seven days we could have been lifting at the gym and getting stronger to get ready for ultimate goal at the Olympics. When I am not at the event, I am at the gym twice a day with cardio in the morning and weights at night, Monday through Saturday. I take Sunday off or I’ll do some light jogging or stretching.

I can’t give enough credit to the performance enhancement team and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. From our physical therapists to sports psychology, I believe we have competitive advantage because of their work. The time and effort we put in off the water is starting to show on the water. We push ourselves physically more than we ever have.

The program is specifically tailored to what I need in the Finn. It factors in things like my body type and what my metabolism is like. Stu McNay in the 470, for example, is doing a program completely different than what I am doing. Our bodies are different. Our weight is different. The needs in the boat for what our bodies and muscles need to do are different. What’s amazing about the program is that they are so specific and detailed for what we need as an individual athlete. I don’t think there is another program in the world that can do what Bow Down has done. The science that goes into it is incredible.

US Sailing: What is it like to have discussions with your family about actually having the opportunity to sail with your sister Paige in the Olympics?
Railey: It’s very interesting that we have this opportunity and obviously our family is excited. We don’t know how we are going to handle it yet. We want it to be a competitive advantage for us. There are lots of different pressures at the Olympics. Having my family there to relieve some of those pressures is really going to help us. It will be an incredible experience and a lifelong dream for our entire family. I can’t wait for it to happen. It has been a dream since we were little kids. To miss out on it in 2008 and for Paige to come back as strong as she has is impressive. To realize that goal will add to the experience of the Olympics. It will be a massive competitive advantage for us.


(ussailing.org)

Racing summary:  US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics won one gold, two silver and one bronze medals on the concluding day of US Sailing’s 2012 Rolex Miami OCR in the Finn, Women’s RS:X, 49er and Women’s Match Racing, respectively. The regatta was capped off today with the final medal race, a double-points race to determine overall medalists where USSTAG won four of the medal races.

Performance highlights include: Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) could do no wrong this week, winning the medal race and securing his first ISAF Sailing World Cup gold medal. “Yesterday I was able to put myself into a good situation before the medal race,” said Railey. “I definitely knew there would be some pressure from the Danish sailor. We were locked into a really tight match race right before the start, I was able to break away before the start and sail my own race.”

After a somewhat disappointing World Championship last month in Australia, Railey refocused and came back stronger. “That was the goal going in; I wanted to capitalize on the week, and go out in a dominating fashion for the week. Getting that goal accomplished is definitely a huge plus for us. It’s been a great week. I’ll be very honest. I was disappointed with the World Championships. I had a black flag in the third race. I really had to change the way I approach my regattas. I wanted to come here and show that all of the training we’ve putting in is paying off. We worked a lot on boat speed and technical set up. We really want to try and start putting it together and performing at events. At the Worlds, getting a black flag was my fault. I had to switch my focus and match the other USA boat.” (photo Mick Anderson/SailingPIX.dk)

USSTAG’s Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) finished 5th in the medal race for 5th overall.

The 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Zach Railey (USA) has started 2012 in the best possible way by dominating and winning the Rolex Miami OCR, the second event in the 2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup series.

Though numbers were down following the recent Perth 2011 ISAF World Sailing Championships, the front of the fleet was still very competitive with an Olympic medalist and a double world champion slugging it out for most of the week. At 26 boats it was also the same size fleet that will be at the Olympics this coming August, so it was good small fleet practice for many.

With a week of near perfect sailing conditions, Railey opened his series with three race wins. Afer that he never slipped below third in any of the next seven races and went into the medal race with a commanding 12 point lead. He won that as well to take the tally to seven and become the clear winner with a 18 point margin over the runner up.

Double world champion Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN) only managed to win one race all week, but a long string of second and third place finishes ensured he took home the silver medal, while third placed Greg Douglas (CAN) started the week badly with a black flag but was soon moving up the rankings with some good results, including a win in race eight.

Fourth placed Brendan Casey (AUS) – who had filled third place for most of the week – also won two races, but five races outside the top three, as well as a poor medal race cost him dearly. He only lost the bronze on countback to Douglas.

Douglas said, 'I am very happy with my event, having started with a black flag to end up third overall. It is only my second medal race - my first was at Delta Lloyd last year. The medal race is very tough because people are always changing positions in the race which effects their overall score.'

'The main thing I took away from this event is that every place counts. No matter what happens you have to push hard in every race to gain places because the points at the end will be close.'

Railey summed up his week. 'The regatta was great for training and racing with good wind and long courses. We sailed mostly in 8 to 16 knots so it was very hard work physically with free pumping and up to 1.5 mile legs. The top boats were always close so it was great racing and very hard physically pushing against each other.'

And going forward, 'We will just keep working on our goals and taking steps forward toward Weymouth. This event was a good measure for us in a number of areas we wanted to focus on and it gives me a lot of confidence we are moving in the correct direction.'

The Finn class has a very busy early part of the season. The European season will start early with the Semaine Internationale de Cannes from the 14-17 February, followed by the Athens Eurolymp from 4-8 March and then the increasingly popular Split Olympic Week from 7-11 March. The fleet then moves to Scarlino in Italy for the Senior and Junior European Championships from 19-24 March. Then it is off to Palma and Hyeres, before the Finn Gold Cup in Falmouth, UK, the second and final country qualification regatta for Olympics.

Results (medal race in brackets)
1 USA 4 Zach Railey 15 (1)
2 DEN 2 Jonas Hogh Christensen 33 (4)
3 CAN 5 Greg Douglas 45 (3)
4 AUS 1 Brendan Casey 45 (8)
5 USA 11 Caleb Paine 48 (5)
6 CAN 902 Brendan Wilton 58 (2)
7 CAN 110 Martin Robitaille 71 (9)
8 EST 11 Lauri Vainsalu 92 (DNF)
9 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 100 (7)
10 USA 21 Gordon Lamphere 101 (6)


(sail-world.com)

US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR 2012, the second stop on the International Sailing Federation’s Sailing World Cup circuit, fourth day of racing kicked off today on the waters of Biscayne Bay.

The fourth day of racing saw consolidation in all of the classes, and for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics athletes it was a day of solid performance in SKUD-18, Finn, Laser Radial, 49er, and Women’s RS:X. In Women’s Match Racing, Sally Barkow’s Team 7 Match Race of Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and Elizabeth Kratzig (Miami, Fla.) defeated Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) in three straight matches to advance to the Semi-Final Round on Friday.

Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) Zach Railey continued his dominance in the Finn, winning a race and finishing third in the other. He now has a comfortable lead on the fleet with second-place Jonas Hogh Christensen (DEN) a full 10 points back in second.


(sail-world.com)

It was another strong day of performance for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics at US Sailing’s 2012 Rolex Miami OCR.

Sailed in Miami on Biscayne Bay, USA sailors hold top-10 spots in 11 of the 12 fleet racing classes spread across Olympic and Paralympic events. This event serves as the selection event for the US Paralympic Team as well as the US Sailing Development Team.

In the 26-boat Finn Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) continues to lead, picking up 2-1-2 today. With six races scored the fleet now has a throwout race and Railey discards a second leaving him with 6 points overall, a full 5 points ahead of the second-place Jonas Hogh Christensen (DEN). Another 6 points back is Brendan Casey (AUS) in third with USSTAG’s Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) in fourth.


(sail-world.com)

The RMOCR is the second stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) said 'It was way better than yesterday, and the Finns got the best of it because the wind was building all day,' adding that his class started racing an hour earlier (12:30) than scheduled to add three races to yesterday’s single race.

The leader going into today, Railey could do nothing wrong as he methodically picked off his competition—most notably Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif., USA) and Jonas Hogh Christensen (DEN)--to quadruple the victories in his score line today.

'In the first race, I was in a great battle with Caleb,' said Railey. 'We were two boat lengths apart from each other and on the last leg back and forth the whole time. In the second race, it was a battle up the second windward leg with Jonas, but he got separated by two boats that were on his heels--he had to concentrate on them.'

Railey said that even if he keeps doing well over five days of fleet racing, it will come down to the ten-boat medal race on Saturday to determine who takes home gold here, since only the top ten boats on the scoreboard at the end of Friday move on to that race, which counts double in the scoring. 'Even going in with the lowest points, you could gain 18 points on that day,' he said, adding that it replicates the format of the Olympics, to which he will go this summer as the USA’s Finn representative. 'Everything will be very much like here, even the 26- boat fleet.'

For Railey, a bonus will be trying to win his second Olympic medal (his first was a silver in the Finn class in 2008) alongside his sister, Paige Railey, who qualified to compete for the USA in Laser Radial class.

'It has been a dream of ours to go together since I started sailing at age eight and she started shortly after me. We fell in love with the idea of walking into Opening Ceremonies together; I don’t know if it really will sink in until we look over at each other and say, ‘we did it!’'


(sail-world.com)

Comments

U.S. sailors took the top spots in four classes in Monday’s opener of the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta on Biscayne Bay.

Americans took the top two spots in the 27-boat Finn class, which held one race Monday. Olympic medalist Zach Railey of Clearwater finished first, followed by Caleb Paine of San Diego.

Fleet racing continues Tuesday through Friday, with medal races among the top 10 finishers in the Olympic classes on Saturday. Regatta headquarters is the U.S. Sailing Center in Coconut Grove.

Comments

FREMANTLE, Australia -- Paige Railey of Clearwater, Fla., and her brother, Zach, are among four sailors selected to the U.S. Olympic team based on their performances at the ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Also selected are Stuart McNay of Boston and Graham Biehl of San Diego.

Farrah Hall of Annapolis, Md., earned a nomination in the women's RS:X windsurfer category pending the United States earning a country spot at the RS:X World Championships in Spain in March. The United States did not qualify a country spot at the ISAF Worlds.

This is the first Olympic berth for Paige Railey, who won a bronze medal in the Laser Radial in a 102-boat fleet. Zach Railey, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist, finished ninth in the 72-boat Finn class.

McNay and Biehl finished 13th in the 80-boat men's 470 class. They competed in the 2008 Olympics but did not medal.



(ap.com)

Long Beach, CA (September 11, 2011) - The 2011 Finn U.S. Nationals saw 30 boats compete in the three day event hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zach Railey conducted a clinic through the nine race event, completing a perfect score of all first place finishes to take the title. Also dominating the field was Caleb Paine, finishing second and clear by 21 points of third place finisher Henry Sprague. -- Full results: http://www.abyc.org/upload/2011_Finn_Nationals6.htm

Another great performance from the Olympic Champion Ben Ainslie (GBR) on the fourth day of racing for the Finns at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta moves him into a narrow, but significant, seven point lead at the top of the fleet after posting a first and second on Wednesday. Pieter Jan Postma (NED) moves up to second place after winning the second race of the day while Jonathan Lobert (FRA) drops one to third, with just two more races to sail before the medal race split.

What was initially supposed to be a lighter day on the waters of Weymouth Bay turned into a tough day's sailing as the wind once again treated the Finn fleet to physically challenging upwind sailing and sleigh ride sailing downwind. For the first race of the day the Finns were racing on the Nothe course, the proposed course area for all the medal races. In an offshore wind, with the high land at the top of the course it can be a shifty, fickle nightmare for the sailors.

Zach Railey (USA) didn't have the best day with a 16, 11. He said, “Not a good day results wise. My lack of body weight was really exposed today. But I am becoming more comfortable with te wind shifts.”

Result after eight races (one discard) 1 GBR Ben Ainslie 15 2 NED Pieter Jan Postma 22 3 FRA Jonathan Lobert 26 4 ESP Rafa Trujillo 38 5 CRO Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 39 6 EST Deniss Karpak 41 7 DEN Jonas Hoegh Christensen 46 8 NZL Dan Slater 56 9 USA Zach Railey 62 10 SLO Gasper Vincec 70


(yachte.com)

Zach Railey won the Bronze medal Kieler-Woche. Ed Wright (GBR), Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and Zach Railey (USA) all ended on 30 points after the Finn Medal Race. But Wright took the gold after he finished ahead of his rivals in third place in the Medal Race. Lobert came fifth to take the silver medal and Railey was sixth and goes home with bronze.




(sailing.org)

Zach Railey (USA), the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, dominated day three for Finns at Kiel Week with two bullets to take the overall lead, following the eight races that have now been sailed.

Jonathan Lobert (FRA) drops to second, while Ed Wright (GBR) remains in third, but extends on the rest of the fleet.

Day 3 at Kiel Week again brought moderate to strong winds with 12-17 knots, cloudy skies and more tough racing. In the first race of the day, Railey battled against the two French sailors Thomas Le Breton (FRA) and regatta leader Lobert for line honours. In the second race, Wright placed second, while Lobert got another third place finish.

“The weather was better today, with only a little bit of rain and the wind was still strong but shifty coming from the land, Railey said of his day.

“I had a great back-and-forth race with both the French sailors in the first race. I think the lead must have changed 10 times and we all finished within two boat lengths of each other. It was a great race between all of us," he said.

“In the second race, again it was both the French sailors, Ed, myself, Deniss and Björn. I was able to get a lead on the second upwind and held that to the finish. With the wind shifting so much the final results in each race always came down to the end and it's been tight racing.”

Björn Allansson SWE) is in seventh place overall after scoring 8, 4. “Today was another physical day in Kiel. In the second race I was able to take the pin end start and round just behind Le Breton at the top mark, and passed him on the downwind. I finally finished in fourth after Zach Railey, Ed Wright and Jonathan Lobert,” he commented.

“For me, this is a great week and I am learning a lot, both new things as well as being reminded of old stuff. It's close racing with many shifts so I always have to stay 100 percent alert, and try to calculate the next move. I'm having a great time so far.

"It was the right choice to hit the left on five or six of today's upwinds, but the tricky part was to find the perfect time to tack over. The wind was also today like prior days shifty and gusty, but to a lesser extent than the last few days, making the tactics of today slightly easier.”

Two more races are scheduled for Tuesday local time with the final race and the Medal Race for the top 10 on Wednesday.

Results after eight races 1 USA 4 Zach Railey 18 2 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 20 3 GBR 11 Edward Wright 24 4 EST 2 Deniss Karpak 30 5 FRA 29 Thomas Le Breton 36 6 GER 151 Matthias Miller 46 7 SWE 6 Björn Allansson 51 8 AUT 3 Florian Raudaschl 61 9 USA 1140 Caleb Paine 62 10 GER 771 Jan Kurfeld 63


(yachte.com)

Zach Railey talks about his Skandia Sail for Gold, US Trials and his new Finn: “Very excited to be here at this moment. There are three events we’re concentrating on for this quadrennium looking forward toward 2012. This is the first of those three events, and we’re excited and nervous to be here all at the same time.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Zach Railey has sailed on the sport's biggest stage. His sister, Paige, has come within an eyelash of doing the same. Both know that the bar has been raised, that expectations have been enhanced, that they must bring everything they've got, with little room for error.

"Our goal is to go to the Olympics," Zach said. "And to win Olympic medals."

They're considered favorites for the 2012 London Games, rounded into shape last month during a four-day camp at the Olympic Training Center that prepared them for European races serving as qualifiers for events to determine the 16-person U.S. Olympic team.

A 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Zach, 26, of Clearwater, Fla., marked a fifth-place finish Saturday in Finn at a World Cup in Palma, Spain, and Paige, 23, also of Clearwater, took fourth in Laser Radial. World Cup stops this month in Hyeres, France, and next month in Medemblik, Netherlands, also are selections for Olympic qualifiers, a World Cup in June in Weymouth, England, and the world championships in December in Perth, Australia.

Zach is striving to become the first American to claim Olympic gold in Finn, also known as heavyweight dinghy and won by Ben Ainslie of Great Britain in 2004 and 2008. Paige wants to continue the U.S. stranglehold on Laser Radial, referred to as singlehanded and won by Anna Tunnicliffe when the discipline made its Olympic debut in 2008.

Both were put through the rigors at the OTC during a 55-person retreat U.S. Sailing high performance director Kenneth Andreasen jokingly called a "fat camp." Athletes received sailing-specific education and testing, working under Olympic coaches Luther Carpenter and Leandro Spina, along with strength and conditioning coach Chris Herrera, Colorado Springs sports nutritionist Bob Seebohar and chief medical officer Sam Murray.

In 2008, Zach competed at 190 pounds, then he ballooned into the 240s in 2009, and he's now down to 210 - exactly where he hopes to be going into London, albeit without added muscle in his upper body that should increase his leverage. Paige has gained 16 pounds in the past 1 1/2 years, and she aspires to add five more pounds to her 146-pound frame, that way she will "be able to stay with the smaller girls and keep up with the heavier ones."

"We know what it's going to take to stand on top of the podium in 2012," Zach said, "so you can't ever take that for granted. We know we're going to show up to the Games, and in both of our classes, there will be eight to 12 competitors that can take that away from us, and we've got to make sure that we're better than they are."

Paige said sailing is unique compared to other Olympic sports since athletes are "dealing with elements the wind, the water. Everything is constantly changing. You can sail like half of the race, and then the next half is completely different from the first half. ... What we try to do is try to be consistent throughout all the different types of conditions."

Andreasen dubbed Zach and Paige "in their classes, the best sailors in the world." But he conceded the international field is "extremely competitive. It's very physical. Everybody is in better shape than they've ever been." He added that the U.S. needs to be "the fittest team on the planet." If it's not, he said, "We're not going to win the medals we want."



(bellinghamherald.com)

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)

Zach Railey knows what it takes to win and he is constantly striving to do so at every event.  But there is an end goal in sight and for Zach its the Games in London 2012.  Just like any athlete who is working on their game, trying to improve it, it comes one step (or race) at a time.

Currently sitting in fifth place out of 82 boats at the Princess Sofia Trophy Race, Zach can see the leader board with two GBR teams tied for first.  But he isn't that far away and with all the top sailors now sailing together in Gold fleet, the stakes just got a bit higher.  So how does Zach feel about the scores on the board?  He tells us in this video interview.



(ustag.blogspot.com)