After 15 out of 16 races New Zealand 49 skiff sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are guaranteed a silver medal at the London Olympics.

Burling, from Tauranga and Blair, from Kerikeri are currently sitting at second place with 76 points with just the medal race left to win.

Blair Tuke and Peter Burling at the London Olympics.

A silver medal for the 49ers will end a 20 year medal drought for New Zealand yachting other than medals won in men's and women's windsurfing.

Australia's Nathan Outterridge and Iain Jensen are guaranteed gold, ahead of New Zealand by 28 points. The Danish crew are chasing bronze with 72 points, 32 behind New Zealanders on 108 points. Maximum points available to the Danes are 18, meaning the final race is almost a formality.

The seeds of success were sown in Beijing after Yachting New Zealand chose to take Peter when he was just 17-years-old with Carl Evans in the 470 class (finishing 11th).

At 23-years-old Blair is an ideal replacement for Carl Evans in the 49er class.

Peter is reported as saying he has much more experience now than ever before.

"I'm a bit more comfortable with it all," says Peter.

Yachting New Zealand's High Performance Manager and coach of 49er sailors Peter and Blair, Jez Fanstone says as long as Peter and Blair sail sensibly, they'll be coming home with a silver medal which is a real is testament to all the hard work they've done over the last three years.

'They've executed very well here. It's a fantastic result for them and well deserved. We'll look forward to the medal race,” says Jez.

Burling is grateful for YNZ's backing. He says the high performance programme has become an accepted part of his life.

"I'm just so used to being in it and competing that I've never really thought about how it's shaped who I am. I've started an engineering degree; I'd probably be finishing that off at the moment if I wasn't here," says Blair.

Sailing made its Olympic debut in Paris 1900 with both men's and women's competitions. With the exception of St Louis 1904, the sport has appeared at every Olympic Games since.