Andrew Murdoch has rounded off his 2012 Olympic Sailing campaign by vowing to return in Rio in four years time.
Murdoch sailed to a fourth place finish in the final medal race in front of a big crowd of Kiwi spectators on shore but was unable to improve on hisfifth place final standing.
"I really appreciate the support I've got from everybody back in New Zealand and all the people up on the hill today" he said.
Sailing in shifty conditions close to the shore and in wind speeds of up to 20 knots, Murdoch wasn't able to improve his overall standing and this has left him eager to come back to try again in four years time.
"It was about as good as today could have gone. I came here aiming for a medal and put a lot of work into that" he said.
"I certainly have a few more years in me yet, and will be looking to win New Zealand a medal in Rio."
The Kiwi team's 470 women's pair of Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, and the 470 men Paul Snow Hansen and Jason Saunders are still on the medal pace in their competitions.
Kerikeri's Blair Tuke and Peter Burling only have to finish their medal race to finish their Olympic campaign with a silver medal tomorrow morning.
The 49er fleet have completed the 15 races of their opening series and based on the point distribution, they are a certainty for a silver medal behind the Australian pair of Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen but the racing is not yet over for them. Yachting New Zealand's High Performance Manager and coach of 49er sailors Jez Fanstone said they must sail in tomorrow's medal round and try and keep out of trouble.
"As long as they sail sensibly, they'll be coming home with a silver medal which is a real is testament to all the hard work they've done over the last three years," Fanstone said.
The pair recorded two sixth places in their final fleet races to see them with a points total of 76, too far behind to catch Outteridge on 48 but well clear of Norway's Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang, who are in a distant third place on 108 points
"They've executed very well here. It's a fantastic result for them and well deserved, we'll look forward to the medal race," Fanstone said.
