Aug. 2, 2006

Railey slips; China's Xu leads by 8 points

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.Two days earlier Paige Railey, the defending champion who was struggling in the Laser Radial Women's Worlds, allowed that "I've got to step it up." In light of the ill wind that blew her way Wednesday, that is now an understatement. Minutes after an encouraging fifth in the day's first race, she was compelled to withdraw from the second. Her boat was OK; the only thing broken was her heart. She is in seventh place, 27 points behind the new leader, Lijia Xu of China. Railey was yellow-flagged by an on-water judge for sculling---i.e., thrashing her tiller to and fro to gain propulsion---at the start. Because it was her second such violation of the week---the first drew only a double penalty turn---she had to drop out and take a last-place score or lose the option of using the race as a discard at the end of the six championship round races through Friday. She returned to the California Yacht Club launch ramp under tow by her coach, reportedly in tears. Railey, ranked No. 1 in the world in the women's new Olympic class, started the championship round in 11th place in the 45-boat Gold fleet, which became the elite group after the first 6 of 12 races comprising the qualifying series. The other 44 boats are now sailing for Silver honors. Railey, 19, of Florida, actually was fifth before the first discard kicked in after Tuesday's races (an adjustment in the standings completed after the evening's press release) but her worst discard was a 12th, while France's Solenne Brain temporarily moved into first place by dropping a 21st and Xu skyrocketed into third by tossing a 33rd. Xu is thriving with a string of 2-3-3 finishes in the big winds that blessed the last three races. After hitting 16 knots late Tuesday, the breeze started at 15 Wednesday and built to 17, with seas of 3 to 4 feet that tossed the little boats like corks. And Xu (pronounced zoo) is learning to love it. As she prepared to launch her boat Wednesday morning, she noted that she didn't particularly like strong wind but said, "No matter what the wind is, I think I can beat it." After posting a pair of thirds, she said, modestly, "I'm happy that I have made some progress. Before, I'm not good in strong wind at all, especially upwind. We used to sail a Europe [dinghy] and it was much easier compared to Laser boats." Xu, 19, lives in Shanghai. Ironically, her newfound skills may not help her in the 2008 Olympics at Qingdao. "The wind is very light, the current is strong, and the worst thing is the heavy fog," she said. "It will take lots of patience." The Gold winners Wednesday were Tania Elias Calles Wolf of Mexico City and Sari Multala of Finland, who stand ninth and 13th. Calles Wolf's problem was that she followed her wire-to-wire win with a 28th, which is now her discard. "I just had a great start in the first race and kept it going," she said, holding an ice bag on her left shoulder. "But I'm breaking down. I hurt my shoulder and my knee [before the event] and they're still very sore." Asked about her prospects of representing Mexico in the Olympics, she said, "That's an easy one. I'm the only one"---meaning, the only Mexican sailor with Olympic aspirations. "The issue is to qualify the country." Like many of these competitors, she switched from a Europe, which she sailed to 17th place at Sydney in 2000 and 12th place at Athens in 2004. "The Laser Radial is more demanding than the Europe and there is more competition, so its great," she said.

The Laser Radial Worlds are supported by sponsors Nestl, producer of Arrowhead Water and PowerBar; Vanguard Boats, Sailing World Magazine, Body Glove and the John B. and Nelly Llanos Kilroy Foundation. Their Web sites may be accessed through the logos in this release.

Class leaders (provisional; after 8 of 12 races): WOMEN'S RADIAL WORLDS Gold Fleet 1. Lijia Xu, China, 6-4-6-(33)-3-2-3-3, 27 points. 2. Anna Tunnicliffe, Florida, 3-1-3-7-7-9-(24)-5, 35. 3. Sarah Steyaert, France, 1-24-(32)-1-6-1-2-2, 37. 4. Katarzyna Szotynska, Poland, 12-7-1-2-7-6-(27)-8, 43. 5. Solenne Brain, France, 6-2-2-5-1-21-9-(29), 46. Silver Fleet 1. Olivia Powrie, New Zealand, 9-(36)-34-25-10-26-11-5, 120. 2. Hanne Jansch, Germany, 14-27-31-36-(44)-3-2-8, 121. 3. Anneke Bouwmeester, The Netherlands, 25-19-13-29-16-(31)-15-10, 127. 4. Alberte Holm Lindberg, Denmark, 28-31-(33)-15-20-13-16-7, 130. 5. Nathalie Brugger, Switzerland, 18-32-19-16-22-(37)-7-16, 130. MEN'S RADIAL WORLDS 1. Jon Emmett, Great Britain, 18-2-(25)-16-6-1-5-7, 56. 2. Steven Le Fevre, The Netherlands, 4-4-1-(41)-15-2-2-4, 62. 3. Steven Krol, The Netherlands, 2-1-(20)-15-3-19-7-20, 67. 4. Ryan Seaton, Ireland, 5-25-9-(46)-13-7-2-10, 71. 5. Fabio Pillar, Brazil, 16-12-5-1-4-9-(30)-28, 75.

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