Michael Phelps: Why Better Competition Will Ruin Gold Medal Pursuit

It's rare when, before a major sporting event, the most overblown storyline actually ends up being worth the hype.

Our morning dose of SportsCenter is sure to be inundated with nonstop Tebow-Sanchez coverage over the next month––but does anybody actually expect that narrative to matter once the season kicks off for real? Our society thrives on the concept of "pregame coverage," boilerplate declarations, repeated ad nauseum, even when the actual event turns out to be a dud.

Which is what makes the Ryan Lochte-Michael Phelps rivalry so (potentially) remarkable.

After their photo-finish spectacle at the 2012 Olympic Swimming Trials, Phelps and Lochte were labeled "frenemies," and their puckish rivalry immediately jumped into the forefront of America's Olympic consciousness.

Lochte was content, or at least seemingly content, playing second fiddle to Phelps' record-breaking tour de force in Beijing. While Phelps was breaking Mark Spitz's gold medal record, Lochte quietly racked up four medals of his own, two of which were gold and three of which were individual.

He took home the bronze in both the 200- and 400-meter medleys––both events that Phelps won decisive gold medals in. But in 2012, that association may be inverted.

Phelps beat Lochte by 2.30 seconds in the 200-meter medley in Beijing, but was only able to eek out a .09 second victory in the Olympic Swimming Trials. Lochte's time of 1:54.93 was more than a second-and-a-half faster than the time of Laszlo Cseh, the Hungarian who won silver in the 2008 Beijing Games.

Phelps has never had anybody this fast breathing down his neck.

The uneasiness created by this close-call is exacerbated by the fact that Lochte beat Phelps days earlier in the 400-meter medley. Phelps' time was a full four seconds slower than it was in Beijing.

Your body doesn't break down that much between the ages of 24 and 28; Phelps' luster has worn off because he knows he's got a shark swimming behind him.

If Lochte's presence gets into Phelps' head this summer in London, as it did this month in Omaha, Phelps can kiss a number of his prospective gold medals goodbye. And if that's the case, we'll be watching the rare instance where our most hyped story actually becomes our most captivating one.