Aussies Abroad in Beijing

Slammin' Sam Taylor takes us on a guided tour of Beijing, visiting some of the Aussie athletes vying for gold along the way...

Sports fans are in seventh-heaven at the moment as the 2008 Beijing Olympics captures the attention of punters from all parts of the globe with a huge array of betting options on offer.

With plenty of medals decided and still plenty more to come (day 10 as this piece is written), the green and gold army is on track for another decent showing after great success at Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.

At this stage, the recipe for Australian success at the Olympics is simple- just add water.

Swimming, yachting, rowing, triathlon- all feature the wet stuff in some form or another and all have seen Aussies produce the goods.

While much of the focus will now move to the track and field events (which traditionally provide lean pickings for the Aussies in terms of medals), there is still a huge variety of events to keep everyone interested.

Perhaps the best chance for an Aussie medal in the field events lies with pole vaulter Steve Hooker- he fell (no pun intended) just short at the world champs and will be itching to shine on the biggest stage.

On the track, hurdler Sally McLellan looked in good touch in her heat and may surprise a few by making the final- from there on who knows what could happen?

On the basketball court the Opals are on track for a medal, Lauren Jackson and co underlining the pre-games expectations while the Boomers scored a big win over the highly fancied Lithuanian team- that win giving the boys a real boost of confidence leading into the business end of the tournament.

As usual, both the men's and women's hockey teams are in great touch and both will be disappointed not to win a medal.

A real highpoint for the men's team has been the emergence of live-wire Eddie Ockenden, the young Tasmanian showing exactly why he is considered the next big thing in international hockey with his exceptional pace and skills.

Another event worth keeping tabs on is the BMX racing, the Aussie contingent confident of scoring medals.

Perhaps our best chance is national champion (and world number 2) Jared Graves who is sure to make his presence felt, world number 6 Luke Madill is also top class while the other rider worth keeping an eye on is Queenslander Kama Kaze (ranked 14th in the world)- with a name like that, anything is possible.

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