19 Dec 2011

Three medals for NZ sailing team in Perth

6:25 am on 19 December 2011

The New Zealand team will return home with three medals from the Sailing World Championships in Perth.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke claimed silver in the men's 49er class, Andrew Murdoch finished third in the men's Laser, and Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie grabbed New Zealand's second bronze in the women's 470.

Burling and Tuke started their final day in fourth overall, and after securing a second place finish in the double point medal race, they climbed their way up to the silver medal position.

Andrew Murdoch was in a similar situation, but had to battle harder for his bronze after entering last night's medal race in eighth overall.

In the Women's 470 fleet, Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie recovered well from an individual recall on the start line and worked their way back up to the lead pack to finish third in the medal race.

JP Tobin and Tom Ashley both came out of the men's RS:X windsurfing event with top ten results with Tobin in fifth and Ashley sixth.

In total, the New Zealand Sailing Team had eight boats within the top ten at the World Champs, as they continue their build-up for next year's Olympic Games.

New Zealand has qualified for the London Games in nine classes.