20 of the best Australian hopes for gold in Rio
James Polson
Cameron McEvoy (swimming)
Some rivals would have breathed a sigh of relief earlier this month when McEvoy announced he would drop the individual 200m freestyle from his packed Olympic schedule. Unfortunately for others, he will still contest three relays (4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley) alongside the 50-100m freestyle double. He is almost half a second faster than his nearest rival in the latter. That's a mile in the water should he swim to form.
Minjee Lee (golf)
Lee was the world's top-ranked amateur before turning professional in September 2014. She already has two LPGA titles to her name, the most recent in April. "I can't wait to represent Australia in the Olympics and think it is the highest honour that you can ever have," the world No.14 said. "Just being among all the amazing athletes will be pretty cool and the atmosphere of the Olympics will be a special thing."
Kookaburras (men's hockey)
Jamie Dwyer becomes Australia's oldest Olympic hockey player when he contests his fourth Games in Rio. The Kookaburras are coming off the back of a 14th Champions Trophy win in England and but won their only Olympic gold medal 12 years ago in Athens. The usual suspects of Holland, Germany and Argentina will provide plenty of stiff resistance however.
Emily Seebohm (swimming)
She infamously blamed social media after finishing second in London in the 100m backstroke but the South Australian is four years older and wiser heading into Rio. She will contest the 100m as well as the 200m along with the medley relay. She was only the fifth woman to claim the backstroke double at last year's World Championships in Russia but will face stiff competition from teammate Belinda Hocking in the longer event.
Mathew Belcher (sailing)
Belcher won gold in the 470 class with Malcolm Page at London and backs up to defend his crown four years later. He has become a father twice over since that triumph and is undefeated at the world titles since 2010. This time he teams up with Will Ryan.
Matildas (football)
Lisa De Vanna's outfit are coming off the best performance by an Australian team at a World Cup where they were bundled out at the quarter-final stage by defending champions Japan. Drawn against Canada, Zimbabwe and Germany in Rio they will be well worth a look when their campaign kicks off Thursday morning Australian time (yes, before the opening ceremony).
Jared Tallent (men's 50km walk)
Tallent had to wait almost four years to receive the gold medal he rightfully won in London after Russia's Sergey Kirdyapkin was stripped of his win for doping. He is right in the mix for the podium again.
Jessica Fox (canoeing)
Fox made her Olympic debut in London as an 18-year-old in the K1 slalom. She is hotly tipped to go one better in Brazil but will face stiff competition from the European trio of Maialen Chourant (Spain), Jana Dukatova (Slovakia) and Katerina Kudejova (Czech Republic) as well as the hometown hope Ana Satila.
Richie Porte (cycling)
The 31-year-old will tackle the men's time trial and road race after a career-best fifth-place finish in the Tour de France. He takes on the last two Tour winners - Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali - in both events but will be buoyed by the fact he could have easily been on the podium in Paris had things gone his way.
Men's 4x100m freestyle relay team
Australia has a proud record in this event - who could forget smashing the Yanks like guitars on home turf in 2000 - and this year's iteration look like being in a two-way battle for gold with France. The French are the defending Olympic and current world champions but a team boasting the likes of Cam McEvoy, James Magnussen and Kyle Chalmers will be hard to beat.View more galleries
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