The 49er sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have been named New Zealand sailors of the year for the third year in a row.
New Zealand 49er sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The pair, who currently have an international strangle-hold in the Olympic skiff class, are the first sailors to win the award in three consecutive seasons.
The Young Sailor of the Year award also went to a skiff sailing pair of Jackson Keon and Nick Egnot-Johnson, while the Coach of the Year went to Burling and Tuke's coach, Hamish Willcox.
Earlier this month, Burling (24 years old) and Tuke (26 years old) won the World Sailor of the Year for 2015.
They then claimed the 2015 49er World Championship in Buenos Aires on November the 21st becoming the only 49er sailors to ever win three consecutive world titles in the Olympic skiff class.
It also saw them extend an unprecedented unbeaten run of regatta wins to 22 victories in a row.
Since being beaten by Australia's Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen for the London Olympic gold medal, the New Zealanders have won every 49er event they've sailed.
Both sailors have also been promoted into key roles with New Zealand's America's Cup Challenger Team New Zealand.
With Burling and Tuke on board, (Burling at the helm) Team New Zealand has taken podium finishes at the America's Cup World Series regattas in Portsmouth (2nd), Gothenburg (1st) and Bermuda (2nd) to hold the overall lead in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.
