Michael Phelps: Day-by-Day Schedule and Predictions for London 2012

The eyes of the sporting universe will fall upon Michael Phelps this summer at the 2012 London Olympics as he pursues both history and the first credible rival he's ever known, Ryan Lochte.

To help keep your eye trained on all the comings and goings of this swimming superstar, we've composed a quick calendar of Phelps' scheduled events and accompanied each of his seven event finals with a predicted outcome.

Note:  All event times are calibrated to Eastern Daylight Time.

Saturday, July 28

400-meter Individual Medley (Preliminary Heat and Event Final—5:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.)

Barring some major calamity in the preliminary heats, Phelps and Lochte will meet for the first of their two head-to-head showdowns during opening night at the London Aquatics Centre.

Phelps is the world record holder in the 400 IM, but swore off the event after Beijing and didn't contest it at either of the past two World Championships.

Prediction: Phelps takes silver.

Considering Phelps' relatively lax training regiment over the past quadrennium, it's a mild surprise to see his name in this grueling event.

And although I expect a closer race than what we saw at U.S. Trials—where Lochte won by more than three quarters of a second—Phelps won't be fit enough to overtake his rival.

Sunday, July 29

4 x 100-meter Freestyle Relay (Event Final—3:54 p.m.)

Phelps dropped the 200 free so he could be at full strength for this event alongside likely teammates Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian and Cullen Jones.

That should tell you how much this event means to Phelps. He wants to be rested and ready for a race that tends to inspire big talk, blazing times and fantastic finishes.

After winning the relay in 2008 thanks to Jason Lezak's epic anchor leg and defending its crown one year later at 2009 Worlds, Team USA finished a disappointing third at the 2011 World Championships behind Australia and France.

Prediction: Phelps takes silver.

Team USA will have a much better showing in this event than it did at last year's World Championships thanks to the additions of Lochte and Jones, but it won't be enough to catch Australia.

Led by 21-year-old phenom James Magnussen, the Aussies have too much speed on paper for the Americans to overcome.

Then again, the same could be said of France in 2008.

Monday, July 30

200-meter Butterfly (Preliminary Heat and Semifinal—5:25 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.)

Phelps first swam this event on the international stage as a 15-year-old at the Sydney Olympics and has dominated it ever since.

Even though he won't exert much effort, expect Phelps to post the best qualifying time heading into Tuesday's final.

Prediction: Phelps advances.

No reason to get cute with this prediction. Phelps will advance to the event final with ease.

Tuesday, July 31

200-meter Butterfly (Event Final—2:47 p.m.)

Having not swum a final since Sunday, Phelps will roll into his best event with plenty of rest. The field, very simply, is in big trouble.

Prediction: Phelps takes gold.

Everyone else, including Chinese veteran Wu Peng, is swimming for second. Phelps will earn a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in his signature event.

4 x 200-meter Freestyle Relay (Event Final—3:47 p.m.)

For the second time in three days, Phelps and Lochte team up in a relay event.

Phelps will be just one hour removed from his 200 fly final, though those kind of quick changeovers haven't phased him in the past.

Prediction: Phelps takes gold.

The Americans haven't lost this event at a major international competition since 2003, a stretch that includes two Olympic Games and four World Championships. Don't expect a big shakeup, especially not with Phelps and Lochte in the relay rotation.

Wednesday, Aug. 1

200-meter Individual Medley (Preliminary Heat and Semifinal—6:14 a.m. and 2:36 p.m.)

For the second time in three days, Phelps doesn't have an event final on the docket.

Wednesday should offer a nice reprieve after his two-final Tuesday.

Prediction: Phelps advances.

Preliminary heat versus Michael Phelps? No contest. The great Phelps knows exactly how much energy to expend in these weed-out rounds.

Thursday, Aug. 2

200-meter Individual Medley (Event Final—3:16 p.m.)

The Phelps-Lochte rivalry first began to take shape when Lochte beat Phelps in this event at the 2011 World Championships, breaking his own world record in the process.

Phelps got some small measure of revenge at U.S. Trials in Omaha last week when he nipped Lochte at the wall.

That sets the stage for the second and final showdown between these two aquatic titans, a race that—if Trials were any indication—should come down to the final stroke.

Prediction: Phelps takes gold.

In what should be a thrilling affair, I like Phelps for two reasons:

1. He has a preternatural ability to out-touch opponents at the wall.

2. He should have a little more spring in his legs compared to Lochte, who will be fresh off a final in the 200 back.

100-meter Butterfly (Preliminary Heat and Semifinal—(6:21 a.m. and 3:51 p.m.)

Though his focus will be on Ryan Lochte and the 200 IM event final, Phelps will also have to take care of early-round business in the 100 fly.

Lucky for Phelps, this is probably his least taxing individual event.

It's one lap. It's his best stroke. It should be easy.

Prediction: Phelps advances.

The greatest fly swimmer in history will be among the eight best qualifiers in London.

Friday, Aug. 3

100-meter Butterfly (Event Final—2:38 pm)

Assuming he retires after London, this will be the last individual event of Michael Phelps' career.

Fittingly, the 100 fly final has produced two of Phelps' most memorable Olympic moments: the finger-length victory over Ian Crocker in 2004 that announced him to the world and the mind-bending 0.01 second triumph over Milorad Cavic four years later that kept his drive to eight gold medals alive.

Prediction: Phelps takes gold.

Though the margins are never large, Phelps always finds a way in this event. At the tail end of his marvelous career, expect one last bit of magic.

Saturday, Aug. 4

4 x 100-meter Medley Relay (Event Final—3:27 p.m.)

History's fingerprints will be all over this event as the sport of swimming bids farewell to Michael Phelps.

Phelps will likely swim the butterfly portion of the medley relay alongside Nathan Adrian (freestyle), Matt Grevers (backstroke) and Brendan Hansen (butterfly). There isn't another nation on planet earth with that kind of talent in its medley quartet.

Prediction: Phelps takes gold.

America has never lost this event at an Olympic Games, and Phelps is the consummate winner. You do the rhetorical math.

In a fitting tribute to his singular Olympic resume, Phelps will march off into posterity with one final gold medal.

Final Tally

Based on my projections in the preceding slides, Phelps will win five gold medals and two silver medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

That would bring his career total to 23 Olympic medals, 19 of them gold.

Think he'll do better? Worse?

Comment below.