Olympics: Day seven wrap - Golden day for NZ

New Zealand rowing Gold Medallists Hamish Bond, Mahe Drysdale and Eric Murray, with their Gold Medals after they won, at Eton Dorney. Photo / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand has had some golden days at the Olympics and they had another one today with double victory at Eton Dorney and they also added a bronze in cycling's team pursuit.

Coxless pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond maintain their incredible unbeaten streak that started immediately after jumping in a boat together four years ago.

Then 40 minutes later, single sculler Mahe Drysdale got the gold that illness so cruelly denied him at Beijing four years ago.

His was a much tougher race and he collapsed on the pontoon afterwards where he stayed for four minutes before getting back to his feet.

"I can't really believe it," Drysdale said trying to choke back the emotion. "I've been working for this for 12 years.

"I had absolutely nothing in that last bit and I could see Synek coming at me. It was just a matter of trying to hold on. I'm so happy I did."

There was no holding on for Bond and Murray as they blitzed the field in a dominant display. Sir Steve Redgrave said beforehand the race was for the silver medal, recognising how good Bond and Murray were, but the pair weren't taking anything for granted.

"Before the semis, I said we were at the Hillary Step, with the summit in sight," Bond said. "But now we're there and no one can take that away from us.

"Whatever happens in the future we'll know that over these four years we've achieved anything anyone could have set out to do in the pair."

Those twin triumphs - drawing a reminder with the Murray Halberg-Peter Snell golden hour on the Olympic track at Rome 52 years ago and Valerie Adams and the Evers-Swindell twins in 2008 - took New Zealand's tally to five medals at these Games and they added another this morning (NZT) when the men's team pursuit beat Russia in the bronze medal rideoff.

Bronze is the best the women's team pursuiters can hope for after they posted the fifth fastest time in qualifying and out of the running for gold or silver and Natasha Hansen was 11th in the kieren won by Great Britain's Victoria Pendleton.

Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke sit in the silver medal position in the 49er class with five races to go after finishing seventh, second and first in their three races today.

Jason Saunders and Paul Snow-Hansen are also sailing consistently and added a fifth and fourth in their two races to sit eighth overall but should move up the field once they can discard their first day disqualification.

Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie got their 470 campaign off to a solid start, with a seventh and a second to lie second overall.

There was little joy elsewhere for New Zealand.

The women's football team were beaten 2-0 in their quarter-final by the US, the men's hockey team were beaten 5-1 by the Netherlands and are virtually out of medal contention, weightlifter Richie Patterson failed to fire and shooter Ryan Taylor finished 25th after scoring 592 out of a possible 600 points in qualifying for the men's 50m prone rifle.

New Zealand's struggles in the pool continued when the men's 4x100m medley relay team of Gareth Kean, Glenn Snyders, Andy McMillan and Carl O'Donnell fell short of qualifying for the final by an agonising 0.06 seconds and Hayley Palmer posted the 23rd fastest time in the women's 50m freestyle.

Today's medal haul helped propel New Zealand up the medal table to 11th overall. In case you're wondering, Australia are in 18th with 14 medals in total but only one of them gold. Poor things.