SYDNEY, Nov 17: The Australian Olympic Committee fears it may have to lower its ambitions for medals at next year’s Beijing Games based on this year’s Olympic benchmark rankings.

The AOC had hopes of filling a top-five position on the 2008 Beijing medal table, but may have to settle for seventh placing with Germany, France and Britain moving up based on performances at major events this year.

“The heat is on us to maintain a top-five position because, clearly, Germany, France and Great Britain are performing very well,” AOC director of sport Fiona de Jong told Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald.

The benchmarking system uses international events and world championships to predict performances in the following Olympic Games.

For the past two Olympics, the benchmark tally for Australia has been accurate to within one medal.

Theoretically, if the Olympics had been held this year, Australia would have won 42 medals - 20 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze - equalling the 2006 benchmark figures, which were the lowest in six years.

Australia have finished fourth in the past two Olympics, winning 58 medals at the 2000 Sydney Games and 49 in Athens, finishing behind powerhouse sporting nations the United States, Russia and China.

But this year three Australian sports did not perform as well on the international stage as they had previously: track and field, rowing and cycling.

De Jong said track cycling had set such exceptional standards with a strong medal showing at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where the team won five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, that it was difficult for cycling to stay at the top.

At this year’s world championships, Australia’s cyclists won a gold and two bronze medals.

“We also had athletics winning just two medals at the world athletics championships, which we would like to turn around next year, and rowing (also two medals) did not have the strong results they had in the past,” she said.

“But on the upside, our sailors were very strong, more so than in the past, and there are 11 medals up for grabs in that sport, and we won two gold medals in shooting, which was up on previous efforts.”—AFP