Sailing: Olympians lead charge

Northland's Blair Tuke (left), along with Peter Burling, is Rio bound. Photo / Pedro Martinez

Two medal-winning crews from the London Olympics headline the first batch of New Zealand sailors named for Rio.

Olympic champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie will return to defend their 470 crown at the August Games, while the four-time 49er world champion combination of Peter Burling and Northland's Blair Tuke, who have not been beaten since claiming silver in Weymouth, were another feature of the announcement.

Kerikeri's Alex Maloney and Molly Meech will represent New Zealand in the women's skiff event which makes its Olympic debut in 2016, as does the mixed gender multihull Nacra 17 where Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders will compete.

Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox will race in the men's 470.

Yachting New Zealand's high performance director Jez Fanstone said the crews named yesterday had worked hard over the past three seasons to ensure the decision for the selectors was a straight-forward one.

"They've had to prove that they are capable of performing to a high level on the world stage and doing so consistently, that's why it's so exciting being here today because those 10 people have done that, and I know they will continue to work hard over the next five months going into Rio," Fanstone said.

Additionally, he said all the sailors will head to Rio at least twice before the Olympic regatta in August to familiarise themselves with conditions and ensure they are comfortable with the venue.

Burling, who will be attending his third Olympics after making his debut at just 17 years old in Beijing, said it is still a special feeling being named in an Olympic team.

"You don't get too many chances to go to an Olympics in a lifetime, so it is always a massive privilege to be named," he said.

"We've got a really clear goal and that is to win gold in Rio. I think getting this [team naming] out of the way early gives us a lot of motivation and really helps us out to keep training and improving to make sure we reach that goal."

For first-time Olympians Maloney and Meech, the confirmation they are heading to Rio was "an amazing feeling".

"It's a great feeling to have this milestone ticked off, and we're just really looking forward to the next six months," said Maloney.

New Zealand has qualified for a berth in all 10 Olympic classes, with the remainder of the team to be named in May.