Peter Burling, the talk of the 2017 America's Cup, has led his team to victory.

But behind every great athlete is a team of supporters and one of Burling's most important is former trainer, Gary Smith.

"His dad came along and said to me, I've got quite a talented wee kid here, so how can I build a good base to make Peter go faster?"

Born and raised in Tauranga, the young Burling has been complemented on his cool, calm approach to the championship.

But Mr Smith says that's just who Peter is.

"He was always quite a competitive kid, but equally easy with his peers - always happy to chat and always imparting information back to us."

Mr Smith worked with Burling, teaching him the rules and expanding his knowledge, but says that a young Burling quickly exceeded his skill level.

"You'd ask him how his sailing is going, to which he'd reply - yep, it's going good. So we've worked on that a bit - he's fantastic now. He's got a great line - boat's going well, thanks to the shore crew."

He says Burling, fresh off a win at the Olympics, walked back into the club as if nothing had happened and began chatting to a group of young sailing kids.

"He's just got that x-factor to just see something on the water, or pull something out of the hat. But again, it doesn't matter if you're sitting there flipping a coin with him, he will keep flipping it until he's got a one up on you!"

Mr Smith says Burling has always been involved with boat maintenance and preparation.

"We saw Blair and Pete here, just before the Rio Olympics, they would come down and only spend half an-hour on the water, but they'd spend at least two hours preparing the boat. Preparation has always been a key thing for him. So it's interesting to hear that he's been quite involved in making sure things are right on the boat - he's certainly no prima donna that just turns up and steps on the boat."

Mr Smith says he's incredibly proud of Burling - and is excited to see his former student return to race in New Zealand, now that the boys have pulled off the win.

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-NZ Herald