Six Australian athletes have already lodged court appeals against missing out on selection for the Beijing Olympics.

And with three-quarters of the anticipated team of 440 athletes still to be formally named, it seems the lawyers will be almost as busy as the athletes in the final 100 days before the opening ceremony.

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Swimmer Nick D’Arcy, who faces charges of grievous bodily harm in the criminal courts, is running a concurrent case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal against his dismissal from the swimming team.

Others who have taken their cases to CAS are relay swimmer Andrew Mewing, dual diving bronze medallist Loudy Wiggins (nee Tourky), sprinter Patrick Johnson, kayaker Luke Michaels and shooter Susannah Smith.

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Michaels, Wiggins and Johnson have lodged their appeals even though their teams have not been finalised. Selectors have told them they are no longer under consideration.

Of the 28 sports on the Olympic program, teams have been finalised in only six: swimming, synchronised swimming, sailing, shooting, archery, and softball.

Excluding those in appeals, a total of 98 athletes have so far been named by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) – 59 women and 39 men.

D’Arcy won his initial place by setting a Commonwealth record in the 200m butterfly at the national championships in Sydney in March.

But he was dropped for bringing the team into disrepute after being charged over an alleged king hit on former swimmer Simon Cowley while celebrating his selection.

The other who have lodged CAS appeals are contesting their omission on purely sporting grounds.

Sally Robbins, who created a storm when she stopped rowing in the final stages of the eights final in Athens, has apparently accepted her omission from the Beijing team on trials form.

Rowing chief selector Noel Donaldson said she had not lodged an appeal since being informed 10 days ago that she was no longer in the reckoning.

Robbins, 26, is now deciding whether to continue in the sport.

Based on recent Olympics, swimming is expected to provide about a third of Australia’s anticipated medal haul.

The stunning times from the trials underlined the strength of the team, with Libby Trickett, Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan each setting two individual world records over Olympic distances.

While the AOC’s legal bill may be substantial, it has no financial worries, having reached its fund-raising target for the Games.

Coates will tomorrow announce the addition of another sponsor, understood to be a bank, which will complete the target of $33 million in sponsorship.

The cost of preparing and sending the team to China is about $35 million.

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© AAP 2012

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