SYDNEY: Australia is anticipating a top-five medal finish at the Beijing Olympics and bracing for a battle with resurgent European rivals Britain, Germany and France.

Despite its comparatively smaller population of just over 21 million, Australia has finished fourth on the medal tally at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics, behind superpowers United States, China and Russia.

Australia won 58 medals in Sydney and 49 in Athens but the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has downsized its projections to 44 for Beijing based its benchmark rankings from performances at international events and world championships over the last year. For the past two Olympics, the benchmark tally for Australia, backed by a world leading sports science team, has been accurate to within one medal.

But over the last year three of Australia's traditionally strong Olympic sports under-performed on the international stage in track and field, rowing and cycling.

Prediction

AOC President John Coates predicts Australia, Britain and France will be competing for the fifth, sixth and seventh positions in the overall medal standings, with Germany expected to fill the fourth placing.

"We're still very confident that being in the same time zone as Beijing will give us a considerable advantage and we'll be in the top five," Coates said. "Our arch rival Great Britain has made dramatic advances at our expense, particularly in rowing and cycling.

"They are also leading us in track and field and sailing. In these four sports Great Britain beat us by 14 medals in 2007 and at the last world boxing championships they won gold and two bronze."

The bulk of Australia's success in Beijing is expected to come in swimming, particularly from the powerful women's team, spearheaded by sprinter Libby Trickett and breaststroker Leisel Jones.