A study by accounting firm Pricewaterhouse has predicted that China will lead the medal tally at the Beijing Olympics. China will win 88 medals to the United States 87.

“As the host nation in Beijing and (with) an economy which has grown very strongly since 2004, the medal ‘target’ of 88 for China according to our model is much higher than its actual medal totals in Athens (63) or Sydney (59),” said John Hawksworth, the report’s author.

Russia will finish third followed by Germany, Australia, Japan, France, Italy, Britain and South Korea.

Last year Italian Olympic official Luciano Barra made the following predictions:

United States - 98 medals in total - 47 gold.

China - 89 medals - 38 gold.

Russia - 88 medals - 32 gold.

Anyone care to make any predictions ? Will China be able to beat the United States?