Aussies eye Youth Olympic gold medals

Australia might be 'small' but are confident they will be strong contenders for gold in the girls' rugby sevens at the Youth Olympics at Nanjing in China.

They might not be as big and strong as some of their rivals but Australia's rugby sevens team are confident they can pack a punch with their speed and skill at the Youth Olympics.

Rugby sevens will make its maiden appearance at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, which begins with the opening ceremony on Saturday (early Sunday AEST).

Australia are strong contenders for gold in the girls' sevens tournament, especially since New Zealand decided to save their team quota for hockey and declined to send a rugby squad to Nanjing.

It will be a six-way battle for the first Olympic gold medal in the sport with Australia competing alongside Canada, China, Spain, Tunisia and the USA.

Sydneysider Brooke Anderson, who is co-captain with opening ceremony flag bearer Tiana Penitani, identified the US and Canadian teams as their toughest rivals.

The halfback considers her side small compared to some of their competitors, but is confident their quick-playing style will compensate for what they lack in size.

Anderson says growing up playing touch rugby league and Oz tag will count in their favour.

"Canada and USA - they're pretty big girls and they'll be physical," the 18-year-old told AAP.

"But our girls are pretty good with ball skills.

"We're all pretty much touchies and Oz taggers, so we're pretty good with spreading the ball wide and working with that stuff."

Swimming will be another sport where Australian can dominate with the likes of age championships silver and bronze medallist Amy Matsuo, and backstroke age champion Nic Groenewald.

"I'm hoping to make a final and hopefully maybe even come away with a medal in one of the relays," said 17-year-old Groenewald.

With 89 athletes competing across 23 sports in Nanjing, Australia are keen to beat the 29 medals they took home from the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore four years ago.

Half of Australia's eight gold medals in 2010 were won in the pool.

Since then, 12 of the country's Youth Olympians have gone on to win nine medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, comprising six gold, one silver and two bronze.

Before Jessica Fox won silver in canoe/kayak at the London Olympics, she won a gold medal at the Youth Olympics.


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