Team GB will have their work cut out to remain in third place in the Olympics medals table, but the threat to their position is likely to come from Russia, not, as many suspected, from Australia.

China are in an almost unassailable position at the top of the table, with medals for table tennis still to be handed out. The United States have plenty of prospects on the track to hold on to second, however well Great Britain do over the coming days.

But there are very few sure winners left for Britain. Tim Brabants looks like having a good chance for the K-1 1,000 metres flatwater canoeing title tomorrow, but there are doubts about other gold-medal prospects, such as Shanaze Reade (BMX), Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (Star sailing), David Price (super-heavyweight boxing), David Davies (open-water swimming) and Phillips Idowu (triple jump).

Russia are able to win in a wide range of sports, as they showed yesterday with gold medals in sports as diverse as open-water swimming and freestyle wrestling. They are second in the athletics medals table and have three good gold-medal hopes in boxing, flatwater canoeing and women's handball. Australia's one sure-fire gold medal seems to be in men's hockey.

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BACKGROUND

• How the Brits became world beaters

• London double-decker arrives in Beijing

• Olympics proves capacity for greatness

• New dawn for British sport as Olympic sun sets

Multimedia

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• Bring back the tug-of-war

• Top 100 Olympic athletes of all time

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