BURLING AND TUKE TIGHTEN THE SCREWS ON THE FLEET

With three top three placings on the water today Peter Burling and Blair Tuke were the most consistent pair on the 49er track and have opened up an 18 point gap on 2^nd place with just one day of qualifying remaining before the medal race line up is decided.

They sailed outside the bay on the Copacabana course where conditions were good for three afternoon races, but deteriorated soon after racing was complete with a blustery front striking the skiff fleets as they returned ashore.

“It was beautiful conditions out there for racing" said Burling. “Three low scores and that's exactly what we wanted to get out of today. It felt like the boat was going really fast.”

The closest crew to Burling and Tuke is Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel who retain 2^nd place at the end of day four of racing.

The defending Olympic champions, Nathan Outteridge and Ian Jensen of Australia, had a solid day and improve from 6^th to 3^rd as a result.

In the womens 49erFX class, the kiwi crew of Alex Maloney and Molly Meech are doing their best to emulate Burling and Tuke, posting a solid day in the women’s skiff to go into tomorrow lying 2^nd overall. Points around them are extremely tight however putting pressure on everyone to perform on what is their final day of qualifying tomorrow.

Medal races tomorrow for the kiwi crews in the Men's Laser (Sam Meech) Nacra (Gemma Jones & Jason Saunders) and the Finn (Josh Junior)

Jodie Bakewell-White

NZL Sailing Team current standings;

1^st  Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (49er) (1, 1, 5, 2, 8, 6, 2, 3, 1)
2^nd  Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (49erFX) (6, 5, 4, 4, 5, 1, 6, 12 3)
3^rd  Sam Meech (Laser) (19, 3, 5, 6, 14, 17, 13, 6, 12, 1)
5^th  Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders (Nacra 17) (9, 13, 7, 5, 4, 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 13, 2)
7^th  Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (Women’s 470) (21DSQ, 1, 4, 1, 12, 21UFD, 3)
7^th  Josh Junior (Finn) (18, 24UFD, 14, 14, 5, 3, 18, 2, 4, 6)
9^th  Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox (Men’s 470) (2, 10, 20, 15, 23, 5, 2)