US Olympic Trials 2012: Thursday Event Schedule, TV Info and More

Michael Phelps can breathe.

On Thursday in the 2012 US Olympic Trials, swimming, gymnastics and track and field athletes will fight for their London lives. Phelps is one of those athletes, but for a single day, he won’t have Ryan Lochte breathing down his neck.

Phelps will participate in the 200-meter butterfly, and without Lochte competing he’s predicted to swim away with the event. On Wednesday, Phelps defeated Lochte for the first time in the 200-meter freestyle. Lochte had previously won four straight events against Phelps including the 400 individual medley and 200 free semifinals at the Olympic Trials.

According to the Associated Press, Coach Bob Bowman said of the brewing rivalry after Wednesday night (via ESPN):

"

They are so focused on racing each other, they do stuff like tonight, not take it out so fast. Michael got ahead, and he was like, "Well, I'm ahead of Ryan, I'm okay." And then Ryan is just waiting to make his move, and he makes his move and they do the cat-and-mouse stuff, and in the process of that they forgot to swim fast.

"

While those two will steal most of the spotlight during the trials, Team USA gymnastics and track & field shouldn’t be overlooked. Here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s competition.

Where: Swimming at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, Track & Field at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon and Gymnastics at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

When: Thursday, June 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET (Swimming), 3:15 p.m. ET (Track & Field) and 5:00 p.m. ET Gymnastics

Watch: NBC Sports Network (Swimming 4:30-5:30pm ET, Gymnastics 5:30-8:00 p.m. ET,  Swimming 8:00-9:00pm ET and Track & Field 9-11 p.m. ET); Live Streaming on NBCOlympics.com 

EVENT	START TIME (ET)
Men's 100 Freestyle (Preliminaries)	11:00 a.m.
Women's 200 Butterfly (Preliminaries)	11:34 a.m.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke (Preliminaries)	12:22 a.m.
Warrior 100m	6:30 pm.
Women’s 1,500m	6:50 p.m.
Men’s 1,500m	7:20 p.m.
Men’s Triple Jump	7:30 p.m.
Women’s High Jump	7:53 p.m.
Men's Gymnastic Competition	8:00 p.m.
Men’s Pole Vault	8:00 p.m.
Men's 100m Freestyle	8:03 p.m.
Women's 200m Freestyle	8:05 p.m.
Men's 200 m Freestyle	8:12 p.m.
Butterfly Women’s 200m	8:22 p.m.
Women’s 400m Hurdles	8:30 p.m.
Men's 200m Breaststroke	8:35 p.m.
Women’s Shot Put	8:40 p.m.
Women’s 200m Individual	8:55 p.m.
Men’s 400m Hurdles	9:00 p.m.
Men’s Discus Throw	9:05 p.m.
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase	9:30 p.m.
Women's 200m	9:45 p.m.
Women’s 5,000m	10:15 p.m.
Medley Men’s 5000m	10:38 p.m.

Information courtesy of TrackTown12.com, USASwimming.org and UGAGym.org.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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