Burling eyes triple crown
Champion helmsman has sights set on Olympic gold, America's Cup and Volvo crowns
eter Burling holds quiet ambitions of making further yachting history, setting his sights on pulling off an unprecedented triple crown by winning Olympic gold, the America's Cup and a Volvo Ocean Race.
The 26-year-old on Tuesday firmly squared the second one away, guiding Emirates Team New Zealand to a 7-1 win over Oracle Team USA to become the youngest helmsman to win an America's Cup by some length, taking the record and the Cup away from Jimmy Spithill.
Having won Olympic gold in the 49er class at Rio last year alongside Team NZ foil trimmer Blair Tuke, who also harbours ambitions of doing the iconic round the world event, there is just one more box to tick.
The pair are seeking to become the equivalent of sailing's triple threat — a fleet racing, match racing and ocean racing champion. No New Zealand sailor has pulled off all three, while it is thought to be unprecedented at world level also.
With the stunning victory in Bermuda still sinking in, Burling yesterday said he hasn't had a chance to consider what his next move will be, but said the Volvo Ocean Race remains a key goal.
“Definitely at some stage I'd love to do a Volvo,” Burling told the Herald.
“I haven't really put any thought into what is next to be honest. It's been a massive push to get to this next point and I don't really want to make any decisions while you're still riding the emotions of the last one.
“Obviously the Olympic Games is still a passion. There's some amazing yacht racing there and I'm sure a Cup defence will be on the radar at some stage as well.”
The toast of the America's Cup world after his nerveless performances in Bermuda, Burling is expected to be central to Team NZ's defence in Auckland in 2021.
With the next edition of the round the world race starting in October this year, Burling could conceivably still link up with a team for the upcoming campaign, but he would need to put in some long weeks at sea to train for the event. There would also be specialised training courses he would need to complete before being allowed to take part.
Having had a demanding schedule over the last four years as his Olympic campaign rolled straight into America's Cup testing, Burling said he is looking forward to switching off and having a break before deciding his next challenge.
“For myself and Blair we haven't really had any time off for about 31⁄ years. It was a massive push into Rio and then we had about five or six days off after that, on a bit of a roadshow before we got straight on a plane back to another Cup event,” Burling said.
“It's a pretty exciting future, but we're just looking forward to having a few weeks off and recharging the batteries.”