London 2012 Olympic Preview: Ranking Michael Phelps' Best Chances to Win Gold

Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games, and he will be looking to add on to his total during the London Games. These are the rankings of his best chances to do so in each of his individual races.

After dropping the 200-meter freestyle from his Olympic schedule, Phelps has seven events on tap for the London Games, four of which are individual races.

For the purposes of this list, only the individual events will be ranked, as relays can vary to a greater degree due to the fact that four swimmers race.

With that, let's count down which events Phelps has the best chance of winning in London.

4. 400-Meter Individual Medley

Michael Phelps' greatest rival, Ryan Lochte, out-swam Phelps at the U.S. Olympic Trials and upset him in the 400-meter individual medley.

This is a very demanding race that takes an incredible amount of training to compete in, and Phelps' sporadic training looks like it may cost him this race. Lochte has been training harder than ever, and it may have paid off.

Phelps and Lochte will be incredibly close in this race in London, but I think that this race will be the one that Phelps has to settle for silver in.

3. 100-Meter Butterfly

The 100-meter fly is one of Phelps' best strokes, and he should be able to capture gold. However, the field is looking to stop him once again.

Phelps barely beat Tyler McGill at the Olympic trials, and this is another race that will come down to the wire in London.

However, I am relatively confident that Phelps will be able to overcome his competitors in this race. You may remember that this was the race that Phelps almost lost during the 2008 Games, winning by one-hundredth of a second over Milorad Cavic after trailing for the entire race until the touch.

Phelps will be able to display his dominance once again in London, and this time it won't be nearly as close.

2. 200-Meter Individual Medley

While Phelps may struggle in the 400-meter individual medley against Lochte, he will be able to turn things around in the 200m IM.

Because it is a shorter race, Phelps' incredible speed will help him, as this race will take less stamina than the 400.

He should be able to create a gap between himself and Lochte, and he will not give his rival any chances to pass him near the end of the race.

1. 200-Meter Butterfly

Michael Phelps is one of the best swimmers in the fly in history, and he will prove it in the 200-meter butterfly in London.

Ryan Lochte can't stop him here, and neither can anyone else.

Phelps is almost guaranteed to take home the gold in this event, and it is clearly his best chance to add on to his gold medal count.

Michael Phelps' Complete Schedule

Date	Events
7/28	400m IM heats, final
7/29	200m free heats, semis 4x100m free heats, final
7/30	200m fly heats, semis 200m free final
7/31	4x200m free heats, final 200m fly final
8/1	200m IM heats, semis
8/2	100m fly heats, semis 200m IM final
8/3	4x100m Medley heats 100m fly final
8/4	4x100m Medley final

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