Ryan Lochte: Day-by-Day Schedule and Predictions for London Olympics

Ryan Lochte of the U.S. men's swimming team will do his best to dethrone his teammate and rival, Michael Phelps, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In order to help you keep up with Lochte's pursuit of Phelps' throne, I'm providing a calendar that will fill you in on when the final for each of Lochte's six races will be. Additionally, I'll give you my predictions for how Lochte will fare.

Note: All event times are Eastern Daylight Time.

Saturday, July 28

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

It will be an absolute shocker if both Lochte and Phelps don't advance through the heat and into the finals.

While Phelps is the world-record holder, Lochte has been dominating this event worldwide since his stunning performance at the World Championships in Shanghai in 2011. 

Lochte beat Phelps by almost two seconds in Omaha to qualify for the Olympics, and I don't see this changing in London. Lochte is too strong, too conditioned and too driven to be overcome.

Prediction: Lochte wins gold.

Sunday, July 29

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

As of this moment, Lochte isn't set to race in this event, according to the AP.

That said, I don't see Team USA not including him in this high-profile event, as they will do everything in their power to beat the formidable Australian team, led by James Magnussen.

I don't see how they can do it, though. Magnussen is the world's fastest swimmer in short bursts, and at the 2011 World Championships, the Aussies blew everyone away.

Prediction: Silver Medal for Lochte and the Americans.

Monday, July 30

200-meter Freestyle (Final—2:41 p.m.)

Lochte was beaten by Phelps in this race in Omaha by five-hundredths of a second, but Phelps has decided to ditch this race in London to give himself a better chance at winning gold in his other seven events.

This development leaves the door wide open for Lochte to win this year's 200-meter freestyle event in London. His qualifying time of 1:45:75  was better than any of the European qualifiers for this event.

Additionally, Lochte won gold at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, and I don't foresee anything different in London this year.

Prediction: Lochte wins the gold.

Tuesday, July 31

4x200m Freestyle Relay Preliminary Heats and Final (6:17 a.m. and 3:47 p.m.)

Lochte and Phelps will team up in this event, and they shouldn't have any trouble making it through the heats to reach the final. 

Team USA, led by the two of these swimming studs, dominated the rest of the world at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, winning the race by more than two seconds. It's a race the Americans haven't lost since 2003, and there isn't any reason to think this will change in 2012.

Prediction: Lochte and Team USA cruise to another gold medal.

Wednesday, August 1

200-meter Backstroke Preliminary Heats and Semifinals (5:47 a.m. and 2:47 p.m.)

Lochte won't have any issues getting through this event. He won this event at the 2011 World Championships, and he'll cruise through to the finals. 

200-meter Individual Medley Preliminary Heats and Semifinals (6:14 a.m. and 3:36 p.m.)

Good grief, he's stretching himself thin here, racing these two events one after another, but Lochte is in phenomenal shape. 

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Lochte's the world-record holder in this event. He'll sail through to the finals.

Thursday, August 2

200-meter Backstroke Final (2:46 p.m.)

In what will be Lochte's first of two finals within a half hour of one another, he'll take on the more grueling of the two here.

He qualified in Omaha after posting a time of in 1 minute, 54.54 seconds.

He'll have to do better than that in London, though, as many of the top European swimmers posted better times than that in the 2012 European Championships.

According to the AP, Lochte had this to say about the 200-meter backstroke:

"

"The 200 back is probably one of the hardest events known to swimming. It just takes all your legs out of you. Being able to come up and step up on the blocks and race like Michael Phelps, it's definitely a challenge, but I'm up for it."

"

We'll see if he can improve his time in London and get back to the world-championship form he showed in Shanghai, when he posted a time of 1:52:96. 

Prediction: Lochte takes the silver medal.

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

Lochte will take on Michael Phelps head-to-head here, and it's to his disadvantage that he will have just competed the 200-meter backstroke.

That said, Lochte's the world-record holder in this event, posting a time of 1:54:00 at the World Championships in Shanghai.

Still, I can't help but think Phelps will take this one away from Lochte, given his competitive nature and his ability to magically touch the wall faster than anyone in the history of mankind at the end of races.

Prediction: Lochte takes his second silver medal of the day.

Final Tally

According to my predictions, Ryan Lochte will take home three gold medals and three silver medals. 

He could do better than that, but he'll be hard pressed to do so against the world's best competitors.

Let me know what you think about my predictions in the comments section below.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as we draw closer to the start of what is sure to be a compelling and exciting 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

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