Sailing: Three in a row 'unprecedented'

Peter Burling from Tauranga (left) and Blair Tuke (right) celebrate with coach Hamish Willcox after winning their third consecutive 49er World Championship title. Photo / Matius Capizzano

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke etched another place in sailing history in Argentina yesterday.

The ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year winners won their third consecutive world title at the 2015 49er World Championship.

The victory also extended their unprecedented unbeaten run to 22 since losing the gold medal race to Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen at the London Olympics in 2012.

Burling, 24, from Tauranga and Tuke, 26, were fourth in the afternoon medal race to end the 16-race regatta 34 points ahead of Outteridge and Jensen in second place.

"We're absolutely stoked to take another title," Burling said. "This one has been a really tough week. I think both Blair and myself are pretty tired now which shows how tough it's been."

Proud mum Heather Burling said she was expecting them to win because they had won so comfortably so many times, but it was not easy.

"They actually had a tough night racing even though they won with a comfortable lead," she said.

"They are just incredible. No one has ever won three championships in a row before and they are unbeaten for three years. No one else has ever been unbeaten for a year in the 49er.

"What they are doing in the world of 49er is just phenomenal. But there is also Team New Zealand and with the amount of time they had in the boat, it was an absolute surprise to have gone so well regatta after regatta.

"They really enjoy the Team New Zealand stuff and the 49er stuff and are out there doing what they love and doing it really well. What parent could want more than that?"

Burling and Tuke will defend their world title in less than three months with the 2016 49er and 49erFX World Championships taking place in mid-February in Florida, USA due to early Olympic preparations.

Before then they return home for the New Zealand summer and will attend the 2015 Volvo Yachting Excellence Awards in Auckland this Friday.

"We've got a few months at home over the summer now so it's going to be great," Burling said. "It's a cool time of year to be back in NZ."

Meanwhile at the women's 49erFX, Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech (Tauranga) finished eighth overall. They were 2nd, 14th and 19th to go into the 49erFX medal race lying ninth overall, improving to eighth after finishing third in the final race.

"Moving on from here obviously Rio's the big goal for next year," Meech said. "And the build-up events like the worlds and then Hyeres, so we will be trying to get on the podium in those events."