Russia’s Olympic boss aiming for top three in London 2012

With the clock ticking down to the London Games next summer, the head of Russia's Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, says the country is targeting a top-three overall performance in the UK.

Zhukov stressed that Russia has been gaining ground in many sports recently, singling out medal-rich disciplines such as weightlifting, fencing, swimming and rowing, with Russia being a traditional stronghold in boxing, gymnastics and track and field events.China and the USA are the usual contenders in terms of dominating the Games, but Russia’s Olympic boss was adamant Russia is in the right form to avoid repeating their flop at the Winter Games in Vancouver.Then Russia could only manage a disappointing 11th place in the medals table in Canada last February.A recent survey by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) sees Russia as the favorites of the 2012 Summer Games.