Back on top: Burling and Tuke in the mix just in time

Blair Tuke and Peter Burling have continued their rise into contention in the 49er at the Tokyo Olympics, moving to the top of the leaderboard for the home stretch of the regatta.

The Kiwi duo pressed their claim for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in yesterday’s racing, finishing third, sixth and second to jump to the head of the pack by a point.

Now nine races into the 12 that precede the double-points medal race, the defending gold medallists are poised to find their way back on to the podium, recovering from a 12thplaced finish in their opening race.

Burling and Tuke made a great start to the seventh race (yesterday’s first), leading early and jostling for position at the front of the pack. There they stayed but were unable to go with the German duo of Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel, who won the race, 16s clear of Brits Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell.

They didn’t have the same luck in the eighth race, rounding the first marker eighth. However, they improved slightly throughout the race, moving into sixth at the halfway mark, where they remained.

In the day’s final race, Burling and Tuke flew home to finish second after being in the top five throughout. They now hold a slim lead over Great Britain and Spain.

Laser sailor Sam Meech has secured his place in tomorrow’s medal race, finishing third in the tenth and final race to climb to eighth overall — with the top 10 moving into the medal race.

Meech had finished in the top five only twice in the previous nine races and sat outside the top 10 coming into the final day of qualifying. With an 11th in yesterday’s first race, Meech looked like he would continue that trend after starting the final race in the middle of the pack.

Rounding the first marker 13th, Meech had plenty of ground to make up. The 30-year-old improved, and on the third leg, moved into the top five.

In the 470, Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox have improved from fifth to third in the overall standings after finishing seventh in their sixth race to continue their consistent regatta.

They are yet to finish below seventh. Their best result was second in race two but they have otherwise finished fifth, sixth or seventh. Their consistency has seen them stay well in the medal hunt.

The Australian duo look set to run away with the 470 gold, however, with an 11-point lead on the crew from Great Britain. Snow-Hansen and Willcox are a further five points back, holding third by just one point.

In the 49er FX, Alex Maloney and Molly Meech have work to do to compete for medals next week, with a mixed bag in weak conditions in their three races.

The pair showed some positive signs early in the day, finishing eighth after getting off to a bad start in their first race.

They then expanded on that with a third in the day’s second race to sit inside the top 10.

However, as the wind continued to fade, the Kiwi duo finished their final race 19th, slipping to 11th overall.

With three races remaining before the medal race and just one point separating them from the 10th-placed Norwegians, the Kiwis remain in the hunt.

Josh Junior (Finn) and the Nacra 17 duo of Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson did not race yesterday.