Michael Phelps: Swimmers Who Pose Biggest Threats to Phelps in London

The sport of swimming has been dominated in the last eight years by one man.

American Michael Phelps has been the man ever since his breakout performance at the 2004 Olympics, and then entered the conversation for best Olympian ever by winning eight gold medals in 2008 at Beijing.

Now in his final swansong, he is actually vulnerable. Phelps is no longer peaking and has been beaten as recently as a month ago.

As we sink our teeth into all of the swimming events scheduled for Saturday, here are the three competitors that are going to give Phelps a serious run for his money to ensure he doesn’t add seven more gold medals to the 14 he already has.

Ryan Lochte—USA

There is no doubt that Phelps vs. Lochte is one of the biggest storylines entering the Olympics.

The pre-Olympic trash talk has only added to this rivalry, which could very well be between the two best swimmers in the world right now.

Lochte has three gold medals on his resume and has beaten Phelps in multiple events at the Olympic trials. This comes after winning five gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships in 2011, while breaking the world record in the 200-meter individual medley in the process.

He’ll be participating in the 200-meter backstroke, 200-meter IM, 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter IM and 4x200-meter freestyle relay, which gives him multiple opportunities to test Phelps.

I’d be shocked if Lochte didn’t win at least two gold medals in the next two weeks.

James Magnussen—Australia

The 21-year-old notched a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships and registered the fastest textile-suit time ever in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2012 Australian Swimming Championships.

“The Missile” will be a serious threat in all four events in which he plans to participate (50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 4x100-meter medley relay), because of his long 6’5’’ frame, which leads to powerful and efficient strokes.

He's a big threat to Phelps in the short-distance relays if his team is up to the challenge.

Milorad Cavic—Serbia

Remember this guy?

He finished second to Phelps in the legendary 100-meter fly in Beijing in one of the closest calls for Phelps in his eight-gold-medal run.

While he may be coming off back surgery in 2010, Cavis has a great shot of making up the 0.01-second loss at Beijing to knock Phelps off his perch in the 100-meter butterfly, assuming he’s 100-percent healthy.   

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.