| For Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL), the Medal Race was a victory lap, the Kiwis having won the 49er Men’s gold medal with two races to spare after dominating the 20-boat fleet at Rio 2016 over the past week. The unstoppable Kiwis dominated today’s Medal Race just as they have dominated the 49er fleet for the past four years, the four-time World Champions undefeated since taking the Olympic silver medal in London 2012.
Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel (GER) began the day in silver medal position, but started the race very badly after a near capsize just 20 seconds before the start. This put the Germans on the back foot and opened the door for Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) to seize the advantage. The 2012 Olympic Champions did enough to stay ahead of their rivals and won silver for Australia, Germany taking bronze. By Andy Rice – World Sailing
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