Returning to coach the Chinese synchronized swimming national team for a third time, Japan's legendary coach, Masayo Imura, has set her sights on challenging the world's No 1 team, Russia, at the London 2012 Olympic Games and clinching an historic gold medal.

"Our final goal is the 2012 London Olympics and we will work hard towards doing well there," Imura said through an interpreter on Sunday on the sidelines of the China Synchronized Swimming Open.

"Russia is the strongest team in the world right now. We will see them as the only rivals for us at the London Games. I definitely want to change the color of the bronze medal we earned at the Beijing Olympics."

From 1984-2004, Imura, who is dubbed the "mother of synchro swimming" in China, was the head coach of Japan's synchronized swimming team for six Olympics in a row. Her team won silver at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Games.

From 2006-2008, Imura led the China team. At the home Olympics, the Chinese squad made history by winning the bronze medal, the first Games medal for the country in that event.

Imura had her second, albeit brief, stint with the Chinese team last year, which covered the synchro World Cup in mid September and the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

At the World Cup in Changshu, Jiangsu province, Chinese twins Jiang Tingting and Jiang Wenwen beat a Canadian pair to claim gold. In the team event, China finished runner-up to Olympic and world champion Russia. Those efforts were China's best at a World Cup.

Imura's tough training regimen and strict technical demands have filtered into the Chinese synchro community.

"Through the tough training of Imura, we know how to give much more detailed instructions to the swimmers," said Zhang Xiaohuan, a former national team member and now a coach of the squad.

"Because of her, we know how to pass our experience on to our fellow swimmers."

Imura, who signed on again earlier this month, said the team is now more experienced but still needs to improve technically.

"Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese team had never won an Olympic medal and was not familiar with some of the fundamental skills. Now it is much more mature and has a solid foundation," Imura said.

"But there is still a lot for them to improve. If they remain at this level, it might be difficult for them to make further progress at the London Games. The team still has to improve its technique and performance."

A major part of the build up to the London Games will be the World Championships in Shanghai in July.

Although the final squad has not been decided upon, the team will comprise a mix of veterans and youngsters.

"The national team needs to be filled with young members all the time and we started to prepare for the transition after the Beijing Olympics," said Yu Li, head of China's synchronized swimming.

"For the Shanghai World Championships, the whole team will work hard and strive for the best results possible."

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