SYDNEY, May 20: Australia expects to send its biggest ever Olympic team to Beijing in 2008 as it attempts to stay among the top four nations in the medal standings.

“I'm confident we'll be the third largest team there and will number something like 480 to 500 athletes, and for a country of our size that's quite amazing,'' Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates told the AOC's annual general meeting Saturday.

Coates said it was important to respond to the challenge from the revival of former sporting powers, while China and the United States could not be replaced as the top two.

“We're under great threat. We know it's very important for political reasons for China to do well at home,'' Coates said after the meeting.

“We know Germany is getting its act together again now.

“Russia is getting a lot more money again now and we're seeing that emerging in sport.

“The British were already putting a lot of money into sport... and there's France and Korea.

Australia, which has a population of 20.5 million, finished fourth in medals at the

2004 Athens Games with a record 17 gold among the 49 medals won by the 482-member team.

Coates said although there were no concerns about the Beijing venues, there were still some environmental issues, particularly air quality, which worried some athletes.

Australian swimmers complained of respiratory problems after competing in China, but the problem was solved at the recent world cross-country championships in Beijing when all local factories were shut down, Coates said.

“If there is still a pollution problem in China, the factories will be closed before and during the games,'' he said.—AP