The pair are among a group of five sailors that have been nominated for the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year award, making the list of finalists for the second straight year.
The two-time 49er world champions, who have not been beaten in the class since picking up the silver medal at the London Olympics, were pipped for the award last year by Australian Jimmy Spithill, who was recognised for his heroics as skipper of Oracle's 9-8 America's Cup win in 2013.
This year the New Zealanders are up against Frenchman Loick Peyron (offshore multihull racer) and three Brits including Giles Scott (Finn campaigner and member of the Ben Ainslie Racing Team), Ian Walker (Skipper of Abu Dhabi, Volvo Ocean Race winner) and Ian Williams (Match Racing).
Burling and Tuke are favourites to collect the award this year, with the pair considered marvels of the yachting world.
A run of 20 consecutive 49er regatta wins spearheads their nomination, including victories at the 2015 Aquece Rio, Olympic Test event, ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth and Portland as well as Trofeo Princesa Sofia.
Alongside their Olympic campaign the pair have become the leading lights of Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup World Series. They followed up a second placing in the first leg in Portsmouth with victory in Gothenburg in August to give them the overall advantage heading into the final regatta of the year in Bermuda this weekend.
Burling also dominated the Moth World Championships earlier this year to comfortably take out the title, with Tuke following in sixth.
The ISAF World Sailor Awards were launched in 1994, and just five other New Zealanders feature in the previous winners list. They include Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie in 2013 (New Zealand's first ever winners in the women's category), Sir Russell Coutts, who has won ISAF Male Sailor of the Year twice, in 1995 and 2003, Mike Sanderson in 2006 and Sir Peter Blake in 1994.
The 2015 winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 10 in Sanya, China.
* The New Zealand crews made a slow start to the 470 world championships in Haifa, Israel yesterday. Olympic champions Aleh and Powrie were placed seventh heading into day two after following up their second placing in race one with a poor 17th place finish in the second race. In the men's fleet, Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox are 15th.
ISAF World Sailor of the Year nominations:
Men: Peter Burling & Blair Tuke (NZL); Loick Peyron (FRA); Giles Scott (GBR); Ian Walker (GBR); Ian Williams (GBR).
Women: Sarah Ayton (GBR); Sam Davies (GBR); Elena Kalinina (RUS); Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN); Charline Picon (FRA).
