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Zach Railey takes silver at Olympics
Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/081908_cit-01.jpg) |
| Photo courtesy of ANN RAILEY |
| From left, USA’s Zach Railey of Clearwater, Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie and France’s Guillaume Florent receive medals for their wins in the Finn sailing class at the Summer Olympics on Aug. 17. |
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CLEARWATER - While most Pinellas County residents were sleeping early Sunday morning, Zach Railey was racing his way to a silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Railey, 24, of Clearwater, came in second in the Finn class behind sailor Ben Ainslie, 31, of Great Britain, who is now a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Guillaume Florent, 34, of France won the bronze.
After weather delays in the medal race, Zach Railey of Clearwater and the other Olympic sailing competitors in the Finn Class were able to complete their race on Aug. 17, according to information from the Clearwater Yacht Club.
The wind was still blowing hard, the waves steep and the flame from the Olympic torch was blowing sideways as the sailors left the harbor.
At the start, Ainslie tried to cover Railey and with 10 seconds to go Railey took a chance and tacked away from him. It was a wise move. Railey started last, but with clear air, and it was a memorable race. It was fast and furious with no sailors making any obvious mistakes. The medal contenders kept a loose cover of each other, but it was too windy for serious match racing tactics to be effective.
“This is a huge achievement for Railey, USA Olympic Sailing, and the CYC members and supporters who helped make Zach’s Olympic campaign a success,” according to a statement from the Clearwater Yacht Club.
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008
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