Glory beckons for a South African Olympic team that possesses the firepower to deliver its best ever Games display at Rio 2016. This past Wednesday was exactly a year to go to the opening ceremony for the first Olympics in South America and only the third on this side of the equator.Chad le Clos marked the occasion by losing his 200m butterfly world title in Kazan.Hopefully that's a temporary setback, because he is a key member of South Africa's class of 2016, which is blessed with no fewer than 20 medal hopes.Team SA went to London 2012 with 13 contenders and they earned six podium spots; 50% is the accepted conversion rate from challenger to medallist.story_article_left1The milestones up for grabs next year include:Team SA equalling or improving on its biggest medal haul of 10 from a single Games, a feat that's been achieved twice, in 1920 (with three gold) and 1952 (with two gold);Le Clos becoming the country's most decorated Olympian of all time;Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh becoming the first South African Olympic champions to keep their gold medals; and,Rowers James Thompson, John Smith and Lawrence Ndlovu seeking to land gold again, but in a different boat class.Le Clos needs to win two gongs in Rio to take his career tally to four, which would be enough to make him the country's most prolific medallist.To date, the mark is three Olympic medals, achieved by just four South Africans.Penny Heyns won hers at two Games, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, and Roland Schoeman cashed in at Athens 2004.The other two achieved theirs at the same Games 95 years ago. Athlete Bevil Rudd scooped three at Antwerp 1920 and tennis player Charles Winslow did his over two, at Stockholm 1912 and 1920.Of South Africa's Olympic champions in 2012, only Le Clos and Van der Burgh have a chance of retaining their titles - the rowing men's lightweight four is already out of contention, having been disbanded in favour of a potent lightweight double sculls crew.story_article_right2Thompson and Smith are the incumbents, with Ndlovu fighting to unseat one of them before final selection next year.Strong displays by Le Clos, the rowers, sprinter Wayde van Niekerk and the horde of long-jumpers will be critical to pushing SA's medal count close to - or into - double figures.All are involved in their respective world championships - swimming's ends today while the athletics showpiece starts on August 22 and rowing's begins on August 30.But the importance of the results in this month will differ from code to code.In men's swimming, 4.3 out of eight finalists from the 2011 world championships made the final at the 2012 Olympics, while for women it was five out of eight.In rowing, this figure is nearly 72% across both genders.But track and field is a different beast with an average conversion rate of about 37.5% in the men's events.That figure was even lower in the three sprint events, at a paltry 25%. In the 400m hurdles, a more technical event, it was 50%.Of South Africa's five Olympic medallists in 2012, only Van der Burgh and 800m runner Caster Semenya made the podium at their respective world championships the previous year.Conversely, those who had won world championship medals in 2011 - 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl, javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen and the men's 4x400m relay team, featuring Van Zyl and Oscar Pistorius - failed to scoop silverware in London.There were no 2011 world championship medals in rowing and canoeing, but both delivered in London.In addition to the medal hopes, there are also dark horses, such as the marathon runners, new 5km world swimming champion Chad Ho, long-jumper Luvo Manyonga, who is returning from a drug ban after testing positive for tik, a track men's 4x400m relay team and the golfers.full_story_image_hleft1Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace are the two front-runners to represent SA in a sport returning to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years.The US, Australia, England and Ireland are ranked higher, but South African golfers have triumphed at a major in the last three Olympic years.Retief Goosen won the US Open in 2004, Trevor Immelman the US Masters in 2008 and Ernie Els the Open in 2012.The Rio Games would be the perfect occasion to shine again.While Team SA has 20 podium contenders now, it will only count if they're still in the mix next year this time.SA's 2016 medal hopes:Chad le Clos: The cornerstone of Team SA, he should be worth at least two medals - 100m and 200m butterfly. Will he aim for more?Men's lightweight double sculls: Rowers John Smith and James Thompson are reigning world champs.Wayde van Niekerk (400m): Is South Africa's top track and field athlete at the moment.story_article_left3Cameron van der Burgh: Seeking to become only the second man in history to defend the Olympic 100m breaststroke crown.Rugby Sevens team: Commonwealth Games champions; finished in top three at seven of nine world series events.Richard Murray (triathlon): World class, but has a tough task against the formidable British Brownlee brothers and Spain's Javier Gomez Noya.Women's lightweight double sculls: Ursula Grobler and Kirsten McCann were fourth at 2014 rowing world champs.Zarck Visser (long jump): Commonwealth Games silver medallist is No2 in the world.4x100m relay: Only four nations boast two active 100m sprinters quicker than 10 seconds - and SA is one of them (the others are the US, Jamaica and Great Britain). Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies have no shortage of quick teammates to choose from.Caster Semenya (800m): Makes this list by sentiment, not performance. Still, can't write her off.Men's heavyweight pair: Won bronze at 2014 rowing world champs with Shaun Keeling and Vincent Breet, who has since lost his seat to David Hunt.Bridgitte Hartley (kayaking): Bronze at London 2012 and 2014 world championships, but has done little since then.Cornel Fredericks (400m hurdles): Coming back from Achilles injury, he won Commonwealth Games and ended 2014 ranked No2.Sunette Viljoen (javelin): Went into London 2012 topping the world rankings and finished fourth. She's again No1.Johan Cronje (1500m): Bronze medallist at 2013 world championships; a contender in a tactical race.Women's heavyweight pair: Rowers Naydene Smith and Lee-Ann Persse are looking for the big breakthrough.4x200m freestyle relay team: Le Clos, Myles Brown, Sebastien Rousseau and Dylan Bosch need to get faster by 3sec.Ruswahl Samaai (long jump): The Commonwealth Games long-jump bronze medallist is fourth in the world.Khotso Mokoena: Won the Commonwealth Games triple jump and the 2014 Diamond Race in long jump.Anaso Jobodwana (200m): Finalist at London 2012 and 2013 world championships; on the verge of breaking 20sec.sports@timesmedia.co.za..