Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Mark Latham will combine to give Australia's triumphant Olympians a bipartisan welcome home to Sydney on Wednesday morning.

Mr Howard's office asked the Australian Olympic Committee to extend an invitation to Mr Latham, AOC president John Coates said.

Mr Coates said Mr Howard had been "unfairly portrayed" in some reports about the welcome, and stressed the AOC had invited the PM to be there.

There will be no immediate tickertape parade for the athletes - individual states are planning those later.

But there will be a welcome in a special hangar at Sydney airport before the 482 athletes, the biggest Australian team ever at an away Olympics, scatter to their homes around the country.

Three competitors have been singled out for ceremonial honours at the welcome home.

Dual gold medal cyclist Ryan Bayley and swimming triple gold medallist Jodie Henry will meet Mr Howard and Mr Latham as representatives of the athletes.

And team captain, sailor Colin Beashel, will make a speech.

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