Peter Burling (sailor)

Early life & education

Burling was born in 1991 in Tauranga. His education began at Welcome Bay School and Tauranga Intermediate School.

Burling started sailing at the age of six in the Welcome Bay estuary near his home in Tauranga, in an old wooden Optimist called Jellytip. At the age of eight, he joined Tauranga Yacht Club and started competing.

He attended high school at Tauranga Boys' College, also attended at the time by cricketer Kane Williamson.

He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland where he completed half of the 4 year degree.

Early career

Burling sailed in his first Optimist nationals at age 9. At the age of 11 in 2002, Burling finished 2nd in the New Zealand Optimist Nationals (under-16). He competed in the 2002 Optimist World Championships in Texas at the age of 11.

In 2003 at the age of 12, Burling won the New Zealand Optimist Nationals and competed in the 2003 Optimist Worlds in the Canary Islands where he finished 40th. He stopped sailing the optimist at age 12.

At age 13, he was 2nd in the New Zealand P class Nationals (under 17). He won the NZ Starling nationals (under 19) – (winning both the Fleet racing and Matchracing titles) twice – at age 14 and 15.

At the age of fifteen Burling (with Carl Evans) won the 2006 420 Class Worlds in the Canary Islands – the youngest sailors ever to do so. They also won the under-16 and under-18 world championships.

At 16 years old Burling successfully defended his 420 title to win the 420 Class Worlds sailed in Auckland. He also won the under-18 world championship. Burling finished 6th in the 2007 470 Europeans – his first international 470 regatta and had his best world ranking in the 470 of 5th in 2008.

Americas Cup

Burling was the helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand's 2017 America's Cup campaign, which was raced in Bermuda. On 27 June 2017, he became the youngest winning helmsman in the history of the Americas Cup, when at age 26 he and his team won the 35th competition for the cup.

Burling skippered the New Zealand Sailing Team entry to victory in the inaugural Red Bull Youth America's Cup in San Francisco in September 2013.

Burling helmed for Team Korea's White Tiger Challenge, in the 2011–13 America's Cup World Series in San Francisco in 2012.

Olympic classes

Burling with Blair Tuke were Olympic flag bearers for New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics. They were just the 4th New Zealand flagbearers to win a gold medal at the same Olympics.

At age 25, Burling was the youngest ever 49er Olympic gold medal skipper. He and Tuke won the 2016 Olympics with two races to spare and by an overall 43 point margin – winning by the most points of any sailing class in the Olympics in over 50 years.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Burling (then aged 21) was the youngest 49er sailor. He won the silver medal as helm in the 49er class alongside Blair Tuke.His silver medal was, jointly, New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal.

Burling and Tuke are the first sailors to win four consecutive 49er class World Championships (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016). They won all 28 of the major regattas in the 49er between the London Olympics (2012) and the Rio Olympics (2016). The only regatta they did not win in this time was when they finished 3rd in a short 2 day regatta prior to the Olympics. In all the major regattas (Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, World Cup) in 2015 and 2016 they led into the medal races by over 20 points – effectively winning the regattas before the medal race.

Burling finished 11th in the 470 class at the 2008 Olympics. At 17 years old (still at school), he was the youngest sailor ever to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games. Burling was the youngest sailing competitor at the 2008 Olympics and the youngest member of the 2008 New Zealand Olympic team.

Offshore sailing

2017 3rd Rolex Fastnet race (Line honours) (sailing on Nikita)

2014 4th Auckland-to-Fiji yacht race (sailing on Wired)

2013 14th (Line honours) Sydney-to-Hobart race (sailing on Pretty Fly 3)

Burling will sail on Team Brunel in the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race.

Other sailing

Burling was the 2015 International Moth World Champion. He was 2nd in the 2017 Moth Worlds.

Burling finished 3rd in the 2014 A class catamaran Worlds.

In November 2015, the International Sailing Federation announced that Burling and Tuke were the ISAF Rolex World male sailors of the year.

Awards

America's Cup

Olympic Games

World Championship titles

Other World Championship results

Other achievements

2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Unbeaten in major 49er regattas worldwide (27 49er regatta victories since London Olympics).

2013 Skipper of the winning boat in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup.

2017:-

2017 Rolex Fastnet race 3rd (Line honours) (sailing on Nikita)

2017 2nd – 2017 – 2nd Int Moth World Championships – Lake Garda, Italy

2017 1st (Emirates Team New Zealand) Americas Cup. – Helm

2017 1st (Emirates Team New Zealand) Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Finals – Helm

2017 1st Swan River Match Cup (Perth) – helm, sailing with Blair Tuke, Glenn Ashby, Josh Junior.

2016 49er regattas:-

2016 1st 49er Rio Olympics

2016 3rd 49er Rio de Janeiro International Sailing week

2016 1st 49er Kieler Woche regatta, Germany (with Blair Tuke)

2016 1st 49er Sailing World Cup Hyeres regatta, France (with Blair Tuke)

2016 1st 49er European Championships – Barcelona, Spain (with Blair Tuke)

2016 1st 49er World Championships – Clearwater, Florida, USA (with Blair Tuke)

2016 1st 49er NZL Nationals (with Blair Tuke)

2016 America's Cup World Series regattas

Helm for Emirates Team New Zealand

2015–2016 3rd overall in 2015–2016 America's Cup World Series.

2016 1st America's Cup World Series regatta, New York

2016 3rd America's Cup World Series regatta, Oman

2016 4th America's Cup World Series regatta, Chicago

2016 5th America's Cup World Series regatta, Toulon, France

2016 4th America's Cup World Series regatta, Japan

2015 49er regattas:-

2015 1st 49er World Championships – Buenos Aires, Argentina (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er South American Champs, Buenos Aires (with Blair Tuke)(Nov 2015)

2015 1st 49er Olympic Test Event, Rio de Janeiro (with Blair Tuke)(Aug 2015)

2015 1st 49er Rio de Janeiro International sailing week (with Blair Tuke)(Aug 2015)

2015 1st 49er Europeans (Porto, Portugal) (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er ISAF Sailing World Cup Weymouth regatta (Weymouth, England) (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres regatta (Hyeres, France) (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er Princess Sofia Regatta (Palma, Mallorca) (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er Sail Auckland (with Blair Tuke)

2015 1st 49er NZL Nationals (with Blair Tuke)

2015 America's Cup World Series regattas

Helm for Emirates Team New Zealand – overall leader of 2015 America's Cup World Series.

2015 2nd America's Cup World Series Bermuda (Oct 2015)

2015 1st America's Cup World Series Gothenburg (Aug 2015)

2015 2nd America's Cup World Series Portsmouth

2014

2014 1st 49er Intergalactic Championships, Rio de Janeiro (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er South American Championships, Rio de Janeiro (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er World Championships – Santander, Spain (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er Rio International Regatta, Rio de Janeiro (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er European Championships, Helsinki (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er Hyeres World cup regatta (with Blair Tuke)

2014 1st 49er Mallorca World cup regatta (with Blair Tuke)

2014 3rd Extreme Sailing series St Petersburg, Russia (helming for Emirates Team New Zealand)

2014 3rd Extreme Sailing series Qingdao, China (helming for Emirates Team New Zealand)

2014 4th Auckland-to-Fiji yacht race (sailing on Wired)

2014 1st A class NZ Nationals (Pre-worlds, 65 International competitors, his first competition in A class)

2013 and previous

2013 14th (Line Honours) Sydney-to-Hobart race sailing on Pretty Fly 3

2013 1st – Red Bull Youth America's Cup (skipper/ helm for NZL sailing team)

2013 1st 49er European Championships (Aarhus, Denmark)

2013 1st – Australian Moth Nationals

2013 2nd China cup (Tactician for Team Vatti)

2013 1st 49er Sail Auckland (with Blair Tuke)

2012 1st China cup (Tactician for Team Vatti)

2010 1st 49er North American Championships (with Blair Tuke)

2009 Completed 120 nm Coastal Classic course in 49er (Auckland to Russell) with Blair Tuke

2009 New Zealand National Youth Matchracing Champion (with Blair Tuke and Scott Burling)

2008 2nd New Zealand Keelboat Nationals

2008 New Zealand Champion in Elliot 5.9

2006 New Zealand Champion in Starling, 420, Elliot 5.9(age 15)

2006 1st 420 Junior Europeans (age 15)

2005 New Zealand Champion in Starling, 420, Elliot 5.9(age 14)

2004 2nd NZ P class Nationals (age 13)

2003 1st NZ Optimist Nationals (age 12)

2002 2nd NZ Optimist Nationals (age 11)