14 Aug 2016

Sailor Sam Meech poised for podium finish

4:01 pm on 14 August 2016

Rio 2016 Olympics - New Zealand sailor Sam Meech could win an Olympic medal in the men's Laser class on Tuesday after finishing his 10 racing heats in third place overall.

New Zealand's Sam Meech competes in the Laser Men sailing class on Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janerio during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 13, 2016.

New Zealand sailor Sam Meech competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics Photo: AFP

Meech raced twice today - he finished 12th in the first, but went on to win the second by seven seconds over France's Jean Baptiste Bernaz.

Meech has a rest day before the medal race on Tuesday, which is raced between the top 10 on the table.

With double points awarded in the medal race, a top five finish will guarantee him a medal - though gold is out of reach even if he wins it.

Elsewhere on the water, Blair Tuke and Peter Burling remain in first place after their four races in the 49er class today.

Their best result of the day was a second place in their second race and the duo are now just three points ahead of the German crew after six races.

They will race another six times during the week before the top 10 teams go into a medal race.

In othe ther sailing disciplines, the women's 49er FX crew of Alex Maloney and Molly Meech are third overall after six of their 12 heats, while Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders are fourth in the Nacra 17 class with three races to go before the medal contest.

In the men's Finn, Josh Junior is 14th with just two races left to make it into the top 10 finishers.

- RNZ