Hopes are high for Rudman (left) and Sinead and John Kerr

Team GB are upbeat about their chances of surging up the Winter Olympics medal table, with a year to go until the start of Vancouver 2010.

"We have had some fantastic results in 2008," said British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt.

"If the Games had been last year, Team GB would have moved from 21st in the medal table in Turin to 12th in 2008."

Highly rated statistician Luciano Barra expects GB to finish 16th in the table, with a gold, silver and bronze medal.

If Barra's predictions are realised it would be Great Britain's best medal return since 1936.

At the last Winter Games in Turin 2006, Shelley Rudman's skeleton silver was GB's only success.

Team GB will send about 50 competitors to Canada across six different sports.

Barra, the former head of the Italian Olympic Committee, surprised many by forecasting 48 medals in the Summer Games in Beijing - 13 above their target - but they finished with 47.

In Vancouver, Barra believes Britain will win gold in the men's bob skeleton and bronze in the men's 5,000m short track skating relay.

He thinks Germany will top the medal table, with 15 golds, followed by hosts Canada and Norway.

606: DEBATE Do you agree with Barra's Team GB prediction for 2010?

Nicola Minichiello and her team have been successful in World and European Bobsleigh Cups, Jon Eley clinched silver in the 500m Short Track Speed Skating World Cup and snowboarder Zoe Gillings won a World Cup bronze.

Sinead and John Kerr also grabbed bronze in the European Figure Skating Championships.

Team GB announced on Wednesday they will prepare for the Games at a training camp in Calgary, the site of the 1988 Games, and which is also where they were based before the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

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