NZ Herald Focus Sport's Cheree Kinnear recaps New Zealand's first gold medal as a potentially historic day dawns on day eight. Video / NZ Herald
Blair Tuke and Peter Burling have continued their rise into contention in the 49er at the Tokyo Olympics, moving to the top of the leaderboard for the home stretch of the regatta.
The Kiwi duo pressed their claim for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Friday's racing, finishing third, sixth and second to jump to the head of the pack by a sole point.
Blair Tuke (L) and Peter Burling of Team New Zealand compete in the Men's Skiff 49er on Friday. Photo / Getty
Now nine races into the 12 that precede the double-points medal race, the defending gold medallists are well poised to find their way back onto the podium, recovering from a 12th-placed finish in the regatta's opening race to show their championship mettle.
Burling and Tuke made a great start to the seventh race - the first on Friday, leading early and jostling for position at the front of the pack. That was where they stayed, but were unable to go with the German duo of Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel, who took out the race 16 seconds clear of the British duo Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell.
They didn't have quite the same success in the eighth race. Not able to have the same success off the starting line, Burling and Tuke went around the first marker in eighth. However, they were able to improve slightly throughout the race, moving into sixth at the halfway point where they remained.
In the final race of the day, Burling and Tuke flew home to be the second boat home after spending most of the race at the lower end of the top five.
They now hold the slimmest of leads over Great Britain and Spain with just three races remaining before the medal race.
Laser sailor Sam Meech has secured his place in Sunday's medal race, with a third placed finish in the tenth and final race of qualifying moving him eighth on the overall ladder - with the top 10 moving into the medal race.
Meech had only finished inside the top five twice in the previous nine races and sat outside the top 10 coming into the final day of qualifying. With an 11th in Friday's first race, Meech looked like he would continue that trend after starting the final race in the middle of the pack.
Coming around the first marker in 13th, Meech had plenty of ground to make up. The 30-year-old steadily improved during the race, and on the third leg he moved into the top five.
He continued to improve his position throughout the race, crossing the line in third and securing his chance at an Olympic medal.
In the 470, Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox have improved from fifth to third in the overall standings after their sixth race, finishing the race in seventh to continue their incredibly consistent regatta.
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Snow-Hansen and Willcox are yet to finish a race worse than seventh. Their best result was second in race two, but aside from that they have finished either fifth, sixth or seventh. Their consistency has seen them stay well in the medal hunt.
The Australian duo look set to run away with the 470 gold however, with an 11-point lead on the crew from Great Britain. Snow-Hansen and Willcox are a further five points back, holding on to third place by just one point.
In the 49er FX, Alex Maloney and Molly Meech have some work to do if they're going to compete for the medals next week, with a mixed bag in weak conditions in their three races.
The pair showed some positive signs early in the day, finishing in eighth after getting off to a bad start in their first race. They then expanded on that with a third-placed finish in the day's second race to sit inside the top 10.
However, things came unstuck in their final race as the wind continued to fade, with the Kiwi duo finishing in 19th and slipping to 11th on the table.
With three races remaining in qualifying and just one point separating them from the 10th-placed Norwegian duo, the Kiwis remain well and truly in the hunt.
Josh Junior (Finn) and the Nacra 17 duo of Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson did not race on Friday.
How our sailing crews are placed: Blair Tuke and Peter Burling (49er) - first overall after 9/12 races Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox (men's 470) - third overall after 6/10 races Josh Junior (men's Finn) - seventh overall after 6/10 races Sam Meech (men's Laser) - eighth overall after 10/10 races - qualifies for the medal race Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson (Nacra 17) - 12th overall after 6/12 races Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (49er FX) - 11th overall after 9/12 races
