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Peter Burling and Blair Tuke might have their immediate sights on defending the America's Cup but winning another Olympic gold medal for New Zealand is never far from their thoughts.
The pair this morning were awarded the Lonsdale Cup for 2020, which is the New Zealand Olympic Committee's most prestigious award and is presented annually to the athlete or team who has made the most outstanding contribution to an Olympic or Commonwealth sport.
In a year when international sport was severely disrupted due to Covid-19, Burling and Tuke won their sixth 49er world title in 2020, finishing 28 points ahead of their nearest rivals, and it came only two months after winning the 2019 49er world championships in Auckland.
On top of that, the NZOC also recognised their efforts off the water, particularly their environmental work through their charity Live Ocean.
"It’s obviously a massive honour," Burling said when presented with the prestigious trophy this morning. "For us, we try to aim more for results on the water and everything like this is just a bonus.
"We’re incredibly humbled to be given this honour by the New Zealand Olympic Committee. It dates back a long time and to see some of the early winners and some of the other people on this trophy is pretty special."
The Lonsdale Cup was first awarded in 1961, with Sir Murray Halberg the first recipient, and the list of previous winners includes Dame Valerie Adams, Lisa Carrington, Sir John Walker, Barbara Kendall and Sir Peter Snell.
There are few sportspeople in the world who are as busy as Burling and Tuke and in March they will help Emirates Team New Zealand in their defence of the America's Cup. That will soon be followed by the New Zealand team's debut in the SailGP in Bermuda, and Burling and Tuke are co-chief executives and key sailing members, and they will also plot their buildup to July's Tokyo Olympics.
"We obviously have the America’s Cup coming up in five weeks so we are pretty much 100 percent into that," Tuke said. "We have a heck of a lot of work to do there. But we are also very driven to be the best prepared we can be for the Olympic Games in July.
"We have a really good plan in place for after the America’s Cup and being back in the boat and up to the level we know we need to be at and want to get to to be the best prepared we can to try to win another gold medal for New Zealand."
The prospect of international competition before the Olympic Games is uncertain due to Covid-19 but Burling and Tuke have boats in different parts of the world so they can assess the situation and decide what the best plan is.
They are fortunate to have a very strong squad of 49er sailors in New Zealand that includes the likes of Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn and Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie, with both combinations ranked inside the world's top 10, and there's also a healthy crop of youngsters coming through.
The Lonsdale Cup winner is sepected by the New Zealand Olympic President's Council and the NZOC board and NZOC chief executive Kereyn Smith said Burling and Tuke were deserved winners.
“Winning six world titles is an amazing feat. A huge amount of dedication, skill and hard-work is required for every campaign and these athletes have proven time and time again that they are a cut above the rest.
“We would like to congratulate Pete and Blair not just for their recent achievements but for years of sporting endeavours across disciplines which have captivated and inspired our nation.
“We would also like to acknowledge their commitment to the ambition for a healthy ocean and recognise the work they have been doing in this space with marine conservation charity, Live Ocean."
“We were thrilled to have Pete and Blair as our flagbearers for the Rio Olympic Games and we are pleased to be presenting them with the Lonsdale Cup today. The NZOC thanks them for their contribution to sport and to New Zealand society.”
