Team New Zealand have expanded their crew ahead of the 35th America's Cup, snapping up two more members of the New Zealand Sailing Team.
The Kiwi syndicate today announced the signings of Andy Maloney and Josh Junior, who will make the leap from dinghy sailing to grinding duties on board Team NZ's high-powered catamaran.
Junior campaigned in the Laser class for London 2012, before going on to switch to the heavy-weight men's Finn class in which he has excelled, producing some career best performances in 2015 and 2016 and competing in the last Olympics finishing seventh.
Maloney, who campaigned for Rio in the Laser class, just missed out on a spot in the New Zealand Olympic team to eventual bronze medallist, Sam Meech.
Since that disappointment Maloney has thrown himself into the challenge of training for a place on board Team NZ, adding 10kg in muscle to his frame in a bid to bulk up for a grinding role. The America's Cup race boats will have just six crew, with four of those positions likely to be for grinders.