Northland hits gold with super sailors

GOLDEN GLOW: Blair Tuke and Peter Burling stand with their gold medals at the pinnacle of the 49erFX sailing world. PHOTOS/PHOTOSPORT.NZ

CARRYING THE weight of a nation on a sailboat, Northland's Blair Tuke and Peter Burling won gold in the 49er skiff sailing class at the Rio Olympics.

Only needing to show up for the medal race after securing gold in race 12, the pair put a dominant stamp on their regatta with a final win.

Tuke was visibly elated with the gold, Northland's first since the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta.

"It was pretty awesome sailing conditions - 15-odd knots, flat water," he said following the race.

"To have the pressure off and just go out and enjoy it was an amazing feeling. But we wanted to put in a good race and put a stamp on the regatta, and it was great to go and do that."

"It was unreal to cap it off with that race. What a day!"

Silver medallists at the London Olympics in 2012, the pair won all but one of their regattas from then until Rio, giving them four world championships.

Tuke and Burling never looked like falling short of a gold this time around, winning three of the 12 qualifying races and the medal race.

The pair's gold brings New Zealand's sailing medal count to four, making it the most successful sport for the country.

"To see two more silver medals today for the girls is an unreal feeling. It's pretty hard to describe," said Tuke.

"Just really proud of the whole team. Not just the guys who got medals, but everyone."

Tuke and Burling took out the Olympic regatta by 43 points, after going into the medal race with an unassailable 34-point lead.

They could have just shown up and had a nice, gentle sail around Guanabara Bay to confirm their Olympic medal, Burling and Tuke were not happy just to take part in the race.

The brilliant Kiwi pair dominated the fleet, leading the race from the start to finish to take out the regatta over Australian pair Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, who beat the Kiwis for gold in London four years ago.

In a nice ending, 1992 Olympic champion and multiple Kiwi medallist Barbara Kendall handed out the golds to Burling and Tuke.

Tuke and Burling's gold, along with Tom Walsh's bronze in the men's shotput, put New Zealand up to 15 (four gold, eight silver and three bronze), making it the country's most successful campaign.