- Climate-hit Pacific Islands plot landmark UN court case
- India collapse to 34-6 after opting to bat against New Zealand
- Israel strikes Syrian city, US pounds Huthis in Yemen
- Taiwan's TSMC posts sharp rise in third quarter net profit
- Pakistan's Sajid takes seven as England all out 291, trail by 75
- Kenya Senate to vote on deputy president's impeachment
- Bronski Beat's gay anthem 'Smalltown Boy' strikes chord 40 years on
- NATO to weigh Zelensky plan in US vote's shadow
- Trial into Brazil mining disaster to open in London
- Italy's Di Giannantonio to miss final two MotoGP for surgery
- Hard talk on migration expected at EU summit
- South Korea's Hwang Ui-jo faces four years in jail for sex video
- Israel pounds Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- India slams 'cavalier' Trudeau in Sikh separatist murder row
- 'Love match' apps rival traditional matchmaking in Pakistan
- Asian markets rally but China's latest stimulus leaves traders wanting
- UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty
- Vietnam death row tycoon awaits verdict in new trial
- 'Our time has come': the female Indian director hoping to make Oscars history
- Bondi beach 'closed' as Sydney shores hit by 'tar balls'
- Dodgers smash Mets to seize lead in MLB playoff series
- China to almost double support for unfinished housing projects
- King Charles heads to Australia, a nation shrugs
- China to boost credit for property market, renovate 1 mn homes
- New York fight back to take 2-1 lead over Lynx in WNBA Finals
- Family feud reignites over Singapore ex-PM's historic home
- ECB set to cut rates again as inflation cools
- Malinin, Sakamoto headline pre-Winter Olympics figure skating season
- Prospective Paris FC takeover could transform French football landscape
- Asian markets rally, with eyes on China housing briefing
- China's underground lab seeks answer to deep scientific riddle
- China toughens Taiwan stance over president's sovereignty defence
- BTS member J-hope discharged from South Korean military
- How Indigenous guards saved a Colombian lake from overtourism
- Despite threats, Florida abortion advocate fights on
- Garcia Luna: Mexico's 'supercop' turned cartel abettor
- North Korea says constitution now defines South as 'hostile' state
- Vietnam death row tycoon faces verdict in new trial
- Menendez brothers' family call for release as US prosecutors review evidence
- Fiery Harris vows break from Biden in testy Fox interview
- Fiery Harris claims break from Biden in testy Fox interview
- Raytheon to pay $950 mn over fraud, bribery schemes: US
- Fiery Harris uses testy Fox interview to claim break from Biden
- Water crisis threatening world food production: report
- Mexico's ex-security chief sentenced to over 38 years in US prison
- One Direction's Liam Payne falls to death at Argentina hotel
- Climate change worsened deadly Nepal floods, scientists say
- Alcaraz will face 'difficult' clash with 'idol' Nadal
- US says India has removed alleged agent in assassination plot
- Barca hit nine in Women's Champions League, Bayern overcome Juve
Australia swim team has 'strike power' to challenge US Olympic dominance
Australian head swim coach Rohan Taylor admits it will be a big task to topple the United States from the top of the Olympic medal table in Paris, but says his team have the "strike power" to give it a go.
The two nations are the traditional powerhouses of the pool, but Australia have not beaten the dominant Americans' medal tally since the 1956 Games in Melbourne.
A stellar performance at the world championships in Japan last year, where they won more golds than the Americans, raised expectations.
But Taylor, who masterminded Australia's success at the last Olympics in Tokyo where they won nine gold medals and 20 overall, conceded they would be chasing the United States again when the swimming begins at La Defense Arena on July 27.
"I think the Americans are the standard of the sport," he said late Wednesday from Australia's training camp outside the French capital.
"So as far as being the best country, they are and they deserve it, they've got the depths, they've got the performances. As a whole, in every event, they'll have somebody who can get on the podium.
"The respect for the US is huge," he added.
"We want to be as good as them. And so the rivalry probably is more about respect and the fact that we see ourselves as striving to be that good and be that consistently good."
Australia's aspirations rest heavily on the shoulders of heavyweights such as Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O'Callaghan, Kyle Chalmers and their formidable relay teams.
Taylor said the squad were on track to do as well if not better than in Tokyo, with multiple swimmers capable of producing something special.
"I think we have a pretty comparable team, where we were going into Tokyo as far as our rankings, where we sit," he said.
"These athletes are exceptional trainers, are committed and perform on the world stage so they have earned the expectations I believe and they thrive on that.
"They'll get up and have a crack, don't worry about that," he added. "What we do have is we have a lot of strike power and it's exciting."
A.Mahlangu--AMWN