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Australia to Send Huge Team to 2008


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Australian is planning to be the third largest team at Beijing 2008.

SYDNEY, May 20, 2006 (AFP) - Australia is preparing to send a record-sized team of almost 500 athletes to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said Saturday.

The AOC said early estimates indicate a team numbering 496 athletes, which would surpass the previous record of 482 for an ``away'' Games set in Athens in  2004.

``It all hinges on the number of athletes who reach the Olympic qualifying standard, but at this point we look like we will be bigger than Athens,'' AOC President John Coates told the AOC's annual general meeting here.

Coates said the AOC is committed to taking a full team to Beijing.

``If an athlete qualifies they will be selected for Beijing and be marching into the main stadium on the eighth of August 2008,'' he said.

He said the introduction of open water swimming events will create an extra four places on the team, with Australia expecting to have two men and two women contesting the 10km open water swim.

The size of the synchronized swimming section will increase from two athletes in Athens to maybe nine in Beijing, he told delegates.

Wrestling could see its numbers for Beijing increase to seven, he said.

Coates said planning was well advanced with the AOC providing total funding of 36.9 million dollars (27.6 million US) for the 2005-2008 quadrennium.

That includes 17.8 million dollars (13.3 million US) to prepare the team for Beijing and another 11.5 million dollars (8.6 million US) to send the team to China in 2008.

Australia won 49 medals in Athens including a record 17 gold and finished fourth on the overall medal tally.

Coates said a top-five finish on the overall medal tally is the AOC's objective in Beijing.

AFP

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Extra funding to be used in the period leading up to the Beijing Games will mean that the British team in 2008 will be the largest ever team assembled by the UK for the Olympics.
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ohhh~500~!

great news~

weclome to Beijing~

how big is the chinese team in beijing going 2 be

haha, i have to say that you r right!~

China will have the largest team in Beijing 2008.

how many members will make up the chinese delegation in beijing? what are you expecting?

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how big is the chinese team in beijing going 2 be

haha, i have to say that you r right!~

China will have the largest team in Beijing 2008.</font>

<font color='#0000FF'>how many members will make up the chinese delegation in beijing? what are you expecting?</font>

By now,haven't known this.

i remember that Athens 2004 China had the largest team.

im guess China will have a more than 600 athletes.

<font color='#000000'>Extra funding to be used in the period leading up to the Beijing Games will mean that the British team in 2008 will be the largest ever team assembled by the UK for the Olympics.</font>

yes,that will be.

And i think UK will also pay more attention to the hole games running, just like China in Athens 2004.

and i think Australia team will have a great aim in Beijing 2008.

That's in the Aqua Center-"Water Cube"

xin_0b264d8ac42143d7a237b03cd08558af_200491311445.jpg

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By now,haven't known this.

i remember that Athens 2004 China had the largest team.

im guess China will have a more than 600 athletes.

yes,that will be.

And i think UK will also pay more attention to the hole games running, just like China in Athens 2004.

and i think Australia team will have a great aim in Beijing 2008.

That's in the Aqua Center-"Water Cube"

xin_0b264d8ac42143d7a237b03cd08558af_200491311445.jpg

600 members great! How many competitors represented Australia in Sydney and USA in Atlanta?

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The Australian team was 629-strong in Sydney. I'm finding it hard to dig up the 1996 US team size.

cool thanks for that i throught Australia had over 600 team members in sydney!

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  • 1 year later...

Coates is starting to get a bit more upbeat about Australia's chances next year:

SYDNEY, June 8, 2007 (AFP) - The Australian Olympic Committee is predicting a top-five medal performance at next year's Beijing Olympics.

AOC president John Coates told a business function here Friday Australia was on target to finish fifth on the overall medal tally following recent outstanding performances.

``We are going into these Games with very high hopes,'' Coates told the function.

Coates pointed to the 18 medals won by Australia at the world swimming championships in Melbourne last March as an indicator.

``Our swimmers produced yet another outstanding result and we are seeing a resurgence in track and field in Australia led by (distance runner) Craig Mottram,'' he said.

There was also high praise for Australia's gymnasts and rowers.

Australia won a record 58 medals at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and 49 medals, including a record 17 gold, at the 2004 Athens Olympics where they were fourth in the table behind the United States, China and Russia.

``We will be the third-largest team in Beijing behind China and the United States with around 500 athletes and we will be represented in more team sports than other superpowers like Russia and Germany,'' Coates said.

He was speaking at the launch of the Business Club Australia-Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, a group formed to promote opportunities for Australian exporters and businesses in China.

Thirty Australian companies have won contracts associated with the Beijing Games particularly in the construction industry.

``China is spending 48 billion US dollars on the Olympic Games, they have a booming economy and a better political climate,'' Coates said.

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I know that Australia will be good at Swimming, Field Hockey or Football (Soccer). I think Australia will dominate.

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