Three Tauranga sailors have been announced in the first sailing selections for the New Zealand Olympic Team to Rio 2016.

Peter Burling, Molloy Meech, and Jason Saunders are part of the double handed teams named today.

Blair Tuke and Peter Burling taking their 4^th world championship at Clearwater in February. Photo: Jen Edney.

The teams are made up of: Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie – Women's 470 (women's double-handed dinghy), Peter Burling and Blair Tuke – 49er (men's skiff), Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech – 49erFX (women's skiff), Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox – Men's 470 (men's double-handed dinghy), and Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders – Nacra 17 (mixed gender multihull).

Three crews named today have medalled at their respective 2016 World Championships, including a fourth consecutive title defence in the 49er class for Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who have now gone unbeaten since winning silver at London 2012.

London 2012 gold medallists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (women's 470), and London 2012 silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (49er skiff) return to the New Zealand Olympic Team to spearhead the sailing contingent.

Tauranga sailors are in two of the crews sailing in events which are new to the Olympic sailing programme – Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech in the women's skiff (49erFX) and the mixed gender multihull (Nacra 17) with Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders.

'I am delighted to welcome the ten sailors to the New Zealand Olympic Team to Rio,” says New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Kereyn Smith.

'They have worked tirelessly to earn their selection to the team and I know New Zealanders will be inspired by their performances at Rio.”

'The NZL Sailing Team sailors all started out at grass roots yacht clubs around the country and with commitment, dedication and drive have risen to be world class athletes,” says Yachting New Zealand's High Performance Director Jez Fanstone.

'They work hard in the gym, train long hours on the water and are supported by great coaches.”

Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, known as Team Jolly, won Olympic gold at London 2012 and head to Rio 2016 ready to take on the Rio venue as a new challenge, having prepared for the past three years to give the very best performance they can in Brazil.

The pair, who are coached by Nathan Handley, have won five World Championship medals in the women's 470 class including a silver at the 2016 470 World Championships in February in Argentina. This will be Aleh's third Olympic Games, and Powrie's second.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke's silver medal at London 2012 was New Zealand's 100th Olympic medal. Since then the men's skiff pair have gone unbeaten at all the major 49er class regattas they've attended with an unprecedented string of 24 wins in a row including four consecutive world titles.

Burling and Tuke, who are coached by Hamish Willcox, were named ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year in 2015.

Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech will represent New Zealand in the women's skiff event which makes its Olympic debut in 2016.

Both the women are first time Olympians, but have proven they're among the best in the world after winning the 2013 49erFX World Championships and more recently taking victory at 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami Regatta in January. Maloney and Meech are coached by Jim Maloney.

Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox have been named in the Men's 470 class. This will be Snow-Hansen's second Olympic Games having sailed at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the same discipline, with Jason Saunders as crew, finishing 5th overall.

Snow-Hansen and Willcox achieved a career best performance at the 2016 Men's 470 World Championships held in Argentina in February with a silver medal.

Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders will represent New Zealand in the second event to be included in the Olympic sailing regatta for the first time – the mixed gender multihull contested in the Nacra 17. They are coached by Jez Fanstone.

After Saunder's first Olympic appearance at London 2012 in the Men's 470 he made the move into the multihull partnering with Jones for a crack at Rio 2016.

For Jones, who is at the helm of the fast and furious catamaran, Rio 2016 will be her first Olympic Games.

The five selections announced today means that New Zealand will be represented in all five double-handed Olympic events.

Men and women campaigning in the single-handed disciplines aiming for selection to the New Zealand Olympic Team to Rio 2016 remain under close observation of Yachting New Zealand Selectors at recent and forthcoming regattas.

The next major international regatta to feature a strong squad of NZL Sailing Team sailors will be 2016 Sailing World Cup Hyeres, in France where racing gets underway on 27 April and runs until May 1.