Russian athletes have stepped up their preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games, aiming to repeat a top three final finish in London.

This year will witness both the London Olympics and Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin as Russia's new president, which means that the country has been preparing for the 2012 Olympics under the Kremlin's close supervision.

During the 18th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), Prime Minster Putin vowed to overcome "everything impeding Olympism" and stressed all nations must close ranks to curb doping, illegal sweepstake enterprises and fans' aggressive behavior.

Russia's national teams have already geared up their preparation.

The pentathlon team used the World Cup held on April 15 in Hungary as a tune-up for the London Olympics, the team's coach Andrei Tropin said.

"All mistakes have been considered, and preparations for the Olympics are going according to the plan," Tropin said.

Russian divers will gather for a pre-Olympics training together with their Ukrainian mates as sparring partners, the team's coach Oleg Zaitsev said.

"On May 4, we will start training for the Europe Championships. After the championships, we plan another training in Bulgaria," he said.

Russian swimmers also have been preparing for the Games with no rush, coach Andrei Vorontsov said.

"There is no hurry or fuss. We hold two trainings a day, as it should be," Vorontsov said. "Russian swimmers have not won golds since Sydney Olympics in 2000, so even one gold medal will be a success."

Twenty-five basketball players have been selected for the women's team, but only 18 will eventually go to London, coach Boris Sokolovsky said.

"We will make selection judging from the results of the play-off in the Premier League. Those selected will start preparations for the Olympics on May 27," the coach said.

Russian shooters expect to grab medals in all 15 events in London, said the Russian Shooting Union.

Besides, Elena Isinbayeva, two-time Olympic champion in pole jump, has spent her time in Monaco preparing for her last sporting event this summer, as she plans to end her career in 2013.

"I hope to win my third Olympics gold," she said.

Russia officials are also pondering incentives for Olympians.

Russian athletes will receive some 100,000 euros for each gold medal won, Vice President of the Russian National Olympic Committee (NOC) Akhmed Bilalov said.

"In last two years, investments in the Russian sports have increased. So have the monetary incentives for the winners," Bilalov said.

Russian NOC President Alexander Zhukov said the Russian delegation plans to bring home 25 gold medals, most of which are expected to be from gymnastics, wrestling, fencing, shooting, boxing and synchronous swimming.

In Beijing Olympics in 2008, Russians won 23 gold medals in the third place, behind China (51 golds) and the United States (36).