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Clearwater Sailor Wins Silver In Finn Class

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Bill Ward

Published: August 17, 2008

Facing the strongest winds of the Olympic sailing competition, Clearwater's Zach Riley captured the silver medal in Finn class Sunday in Qingdao, China.

The 24-year-old Railey challenged four-time Olympic medalist Ben Ainslie all week long but when the medal race was over Sunday and the series totals were added, the veteran British sailor emerged with the gold medal by a comfortable 23-45 margin.

Leading from start to finish in winds that gusted to 20 knots and seas that were rough, Ainslie took the medal race and the gold medal in style. He was never really challenged while Railey turned in a solid race with sixth place. France's Guillaume Florent edged Denmark's Daniel Birgmark for the bronze medal.

For now, Ainslie is the king of Finn. But at 31, he is seven years older than Railey and will be challenged to maintain his dominance over the next Olympic cycle, at least in Finn.

Sunday's medal race showed just how far Railey has come since he was a kid sailing Optimist dinghies. Now 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Railey started in last place but in clear air. After a few tacks, Ainslie was obviously keeping Railey in his sights because Railey was the only sailor in the fleet close enough to challenge him for the gold. But unlike Saturday, when races were abandoned due to a lack of wind, Ainslie took the initiative and grabbed the lead. Railey, meanwhile held on for a sixth-place finish and the silver.

After the race, Railey was already talking about the 2012 Games, where Olympic sailing will be staged in Weymouth, England.

"I will continue my training step by step, and goal by goal. I will definitely go for the gold," Railey said. "It's just one more place to go. It has always been my dream to stand on the Olympic podium. The fact that it's silver and not gold is not important to me."

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