Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte set for Olympic pool duel
The rivalry between swimmers Ryan Lochte, left, and Michael Phelps, right, is considered one of the biggest Olympic story lines. (Getty Images)
Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte set for Olympic pool duel
By Paul Newberry, Associated Press | July 23, 2012 at 1:00 am
There's nothing like a good rivalry to get the competitive juices flowing.
At the Olympic pool in London, get ready to savor Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte.
They are the world's two greatest swimmers, and their head-to-head races at the U.S. Olympic trials were epic. Of course, that was merely a tantalizing warm-up for the events that really matter in Britain.
"I always love competition," Phelps said. "You can probably count on there being some other close races in the next couple of weeks."
Already the winningest Olympian ever with 14 gold medals, Phelps, 27, will swim seven more events in London in what he insists will be his final meet as a competitive swimmer.
Lochte has no plans to quit the sport, and the only parting gift he'd like to send to his friendly rival is a couple of Olympic silver medals, which is actually a color Phelps doesn't have.
"It's hard to say who is the best swimmer," said Lochte, who beat Phelps twice at the 2011 world championships but lost to him three out of four times at the U.S. trials. "We're both great racers, and we have been going back and forth for so long."
While much of the attention on the men's side will focus on Phelps and Lochte, there's another American ready to break out for the women.
Missy Franklin is still just a girl, only 17 and looking forward to her senior year of high school in Colorado. But "Missy the Missile" won five medals at last year's worlds and is scheduled to swim seven events at the Olympics.
With her boundless enthusiasm and a frame (6-foot-1 with size-13 feet) that's custom-built for swimming fast, Franklin has a chance to be a huge star in London.
"It sounds absolutely amazing," she said. "I'm thrilled to see what's going to happen this summer."
There are other compelling stories, as well, from Japanese star Kosuke Kitajima trying to sweep the men's Olympic breaststroke events for the third straight time to sprint stars James Magnussen of Australia and Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands.
But two swimmers figure to stand above all others at these Games: Phelps and Lochte.
Phelps actually qualified in eight Olympic events, giving him a chance to match his record haul of gold medals from the Beijing Games four years ago. But he dropped the 200-meter freestyle, believing a slightly smaller program would give him a better chance to succeed, considering he didn't train nearly as hard for these Olympics as he did leading up to 2008.
That leaves him with two races against Lochte: the 200 and 400 individual medleys. The laid-back Floridian won both events at the 2011 worlds, beating Phelps with a world-record time in the 200 and easily taking the longer race with Phelps sitting out.
Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion in both, returned to the 400 IM only this year after vowing in Beijing to never swim the grueling race again. Lochte beat him at the trials, but Phelps came back to win the 200 IM.
Look for more of the same in London, especially since Phelps has clearly been paying attention to Lochte's repeated declarations that "this is my time."
"I'm always a fan of quotes," Phelps said with a sly grin.
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