MELISSA Rippon still finds it difficult to describe her immediate feelings in the aftermath of Australia's fourth placing at the Athens Olympics.

But the current captain remembers the final result - a 6-5 loss to the US in the bronze medal playoff.

"I was one of the players who was in the water at the time and when the final whistle went I had the most sickening feeling that I don't think I could describe," she said.

"The fact that it didn't feel like they won the bronze medal, it felt like we lost it; it's something we'll all have to live with for the rest of our lives."

Having won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in unforgettable fashion, the bar is high for Australia's women.

Rippon is in Cairns this week to put the finishing touches on her Olympic preparation.

The team is conducting two training sessions a day at the Trinity Anglican School's aquatic centre in a bid to acclimatise to the humid conditions they will face in Beijing.

Since Athens, the team have climbed their way back to the pointy end of the world rankings.

They won the 2006 World Cup and collected the silver medal at last year's Melbourne world championships courtesy of another 6-5 loss to the US.

The women have drawn Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands in group B in Beijing.

Rippon admits she'd love nothing more than to turn the tables on the mighty US side in the knockout stages.

"Though I don't mind who we beat in that gold medal match!"

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