The US team is tipped to win 114 medals in Tokyo (43 gold, 30 silver and 41 bronze), which is expected to be ahead of China on 85 (38 gold, 23 silver and 24 bronze) and athletes from Russia on 56 (23 gold, 24 silver and 26 bronze).
The US, whose projected total of 114 medals is seven down on its haul at the Rio Olympics, topped the medal tables in 2016 and 2012 but was bettered by host China, which won more golds, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Great Britain, which finished second in the medal table at Rio 2016, is predicted to drop down to eighth in the table in Tokyo behind Japan, Netherlands, France and Australia.
Japan’s predicted tally of 59 medals would be a 40% improvement on its Rio total, according to Gracenote, while the Netherlands is forecast to comfortably beat its best-ever haul of 25 medals with 46 in Tokyo.
Uncertainty has surrounded the upcoming Olympics since they were postponed until 2021, although organizers maintain that the event will go ahead later this year.
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