Olympians Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have re-signed with Team New Zealand for the next America's Cup.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The news comes after a prolonged period of uncertainty about the star duo and whether they would be back after helping lead Team New Zealand to success at the last two Cups in Bermuda and Auckland.
Skipper Burling and Tuke, who won a silver medal in the 49er at the Tokyo Olympics, join a strong core sailing team which already includes Australians Glenn Ashby and Nathan Outteridge, as well as Josh Junior and Andy Maloney.
In addition, the three time Olympic medalist pair confirmed their decision not to campaign for the 2024 Olympic Games in the 49er class.
They continue to lead the New Zealand SailGP Team.
"We are excited to be part of Team New Zealand going for the third win in a row of the oldest sporting trophy in the world,'' says Tuke.
Burling and Tuke believe combining their America's Cup and SailGP programmes will complement each other incredibly well.
"The America's Cup and SailGP will create a super high performance environment that will push us to be our best and maximise our performance in both competitions,'' Burling said.
Stepping out of the 49er wasn't an easy decision for the pair but after six World Championship titles, and three back to back Olympic campaigns resulting in two silver and one gold medal for their country they felt the time was right.
"It's not retirement from the Olympics, we'll never say never.
"We step aside knowing there is a breadth of talent within the New Zealand Sailing Team that will represent Aotearoa strongly at the Olympic Games in Paris," Tuke said.
The complete sailing team for Team New Zealand will be further bolstered at a later date when the powerhouse grinders or cyclors will begin full time training to provide the power for the 3rd generation of AC75's.
Team New Zealand COO Kevin Shoebridge has been a key proponent in putting together one of the strongest line ups in the team's history.
"Clearly we are very happy to have the depth of talent that we have in the sailing team right now. The strength of our core sailing team is clear to see, there isn't many things in sailing that haven't been achieved by this group of guys collectively.
"After the finish of the last America's Cup we had an extensive and robust review of the winning campaign and how we can become stronger. Ultimately, all aspects of the organisation must improve if we are to be successful again in AC37 and collectively improving our sailing team as a unit is an important aspect of this."