Sports Achievement of the Year nominees: Burling and Tuke

Blair Tuke (left) and Peter Burling have notched 22-straight 49er regatta wins.

Despite all the accolades Peter Burling and Blair Tuke receive, there is a sense New Zealanders don't understand just how good the pair are.

Of all the extraordinary stats that can be produced to illustrate the pair's dominance, perhaps this one best exemplifies Burling and Tuke's stranglehold on the competitive 49er class: no other Olympic sailing crew has gone through a year unbeaten.

The Kiwi duo have just completed their third season unbeaten, racking up 22-straight regatta wins.

Their key victories this year included the Aquece Rio Olympic test event, the ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth, before picking up a third-straight world title at the world championships in Argentina last month.

Burling and Tuke, who were crowned ISAF world sailors of the year on the eve of the Argentina regatta, had wrapped up the title even before lining up for the medal race, with an unassailable 29-point lead heading into the final day.

What makes their three-year unbeaten run all the more remarkable is the number of variables at play in their sport. Weather conditions, sea state and the various tactics that come into play can all shake up results from one regatta to the next.

None of those has altered the outcome in the 49er fleet.

Burling and Tuke excel in light air. They excel in heavy breeze. They win regattas leading from start to finish. And they win regattas when it is all on the line in the final race.

This year they have also proven they can continue to dominate when their time is split between campaigns, having ramped up their commit-ments with Emirates Team New Zealand. In this year's America's Cup World Series, Burling and Tuke helped take the Kiwi syndicate to a position the youngsters know well - the top of the podium.

Every day we will be running the finalists for Sporting Achievement of the Year, culminating in the supreme winner on Saturday.
Yesterday: Linda Villumsen and the team pursuit track cycling squad.