Michael Phelps Begins Quest for 7 Golds with Saturday's 400 IM

Michael Phelps begins his quest for more gold on Saturday. He currently has 16 Olympic medals in his illustrious career, 14 of them gold and two bronze.

London will be Phelps' fourth Olympic games. He first competed in Sydney in 2000 at age 15. In Athens in 2004, he won a total of eight medals, including six gold. Then, in 2008 in Beijing, Phelps won eight medals, all gold.

If Phelps can win three more medals at the 2012 Olympics in London, he will become the most decorated Olympian of all time. Barring a complete collapse, Phelps should win those three and a lot more.

Over these next eight days, one of the most compelling stories of this Olympiad will be Phelps' quest for more gold medals and breaking the record for most Olympic medals, which stands at 18. Former Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina, currently holds this record.

Phelps will compete in seven events in 2012. Four of those will be individual events, along with three relays. Let's take a closer look at Phelps' events and the outlook for more gold.

400 IM: Saturday, July 28

Michael Phelps' first event of the 2012 Olympic Games is the 400m Individual Medley. The 400 IM is my favorite event of the entire swimming program.

In the Individual Medley, each competitor will swim 100 meters of each of the four disciplines. The race begins with the butterfly, then moves to the backstroke, then breaststroke and culminates with the freestyle. The 400 IM is the best test of who is the greatest all-around swimmer in the world.

Although Phelps should win a medal here, there is no guarantee that it will be gold. Fellow American and rival Ryan Lochte is out to prove that he can beat Phelps on the biggest stage. Lochte beat Phelps in the 400 IM at the US Olympic Swimming Trials, in June.

Lochte is telling anyone who will listen that he intends to defeat Phelps and take home the gold in the 400 IM. This race between Phelps and Lochte is arguably the signature individual contest of not only the swimming, but of the entire Olympic Games.

This is an event you won't want to miss, as these two rivals go head-to-head. It should be a close, thrilling race. Lochte beat Phelps the last time but that wasn't the Olympics. You simply cannot count Phelps out, when everything is on the line. This will be a great race.

4X100 Freestyle Relay: Sunday, July 29

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the US team narrowly defeated France in the 4x100m freestyle relay, to win the gold. Michael Phelps will be competing in this relay, and the only thing stopping the USA from winning a medal would be a false start and disqualification.

I would expect to see Phelps swim only in the finals of this event and sit out the preliminaries. The US 4x100 freestyle relay team consists of six relay swimmers. Four are chosen for each race, and Phelps will most likely rest during the preliminaries.

In order to win a medal, Phelps would have to swim in at least one of the races, which would most certainly be the finals. The US team will face stiff competition from Australia. For Phelps and the US team, winning a gold medal is possible, though certainly not guaranteed.

200 Butterfly: Tuesday, July 31

The 200-meter butterfly is one of the most grueling events in swimming, if not the most grueling. The butterfly is a beautiful stroke but requires the most strength and power to do it correctly and fast.

My daughter, who was a top swimmer and very good in the butterfly at the high school and Junior Olympic level, informed me that she felt the 200 butterfly was tougher than even the 1500 freestyle. 

Michael Phelps is the top 200 butterfly swimmer in the world. He will be favored to win gold in this event and anything else would be an upset.

4X200 Freestyle Relay: Tuesday, July 31

The United States is favored to win the 4x200 freestyle relay. However, Australia and France are also expected to challenge for the gold.

Look for Michael Phelps and his rival, Ryan Lochte, to form half of the team for this relay. These two will help lead the US to a medal, and it could very well be gold.

200 IM: Thursday, August 2

Michael Phelps beat arch-rival Ryan Lochte by nine one-hundredths of a second in the 200 individual medley at the US Olympic Trials last month. That is literally about the length of your index finger.

Phelps and Lochte should battle it out for the gold in this event. They are the two fastest in the world and you can expect to see another incredible duel in the pool between these two.

If, as I noted earlier, the 400 IM race between Phelps and Lochte is the signature event at the swimming venue, then this 200 IM could be the most compelling. Whether it's Phelps or Lochte who wins the 400 IM, which will be swum five days earlier, they will face an even stiffer resolve from the other competitor in the 200.

Lochte is out to prove he is the best swimmer in the world and will be competing in five events. Phelps, who plans to retire after the Olympics, wants to go out on top and is competing in seven. The two will face each other in only the two individual medley events.

Be sure to catch this race, as it will quite probably be the last time these two great swimmers face each other in competition.

100 Butterfly: Friday, August 3

Michael Phelps narrowly defeated Tyler McGill in the 100 butterfly at the Olympic Trials held in June. In addition to McGill, Phelps will also face Milorad Cavic, who lost in the Beijing Olympics four years ago by one one-hundredth of a second. That is about the length of a fingernail.

Cavic, who also swam at the University of California, Berkeley, was born in the United States but also is a citizen of Serbia. He will swim for Serbia, as he did in 2008, and could definitely pull off an upset in this race.

 I look for Phelps to win a medal in the 100 fly. Whether it will be gold remains to be seen.

4X100 Medley Relay: Saturday, August 4

The 4x100m medley relay is my favorite relay event in swimming. Four swimmers compete in one of the four disciplines, starting off with the backstroke.

Following the backstroke comes the breaststroke, then the butterfly leg. The relay is concluded with the freestyle. The United States has won this event every year that it has been swum in the Olympics.

The chief competition in this event, again, comes from Australia. Similar to the other relays, look for Phelps to swim only in the finals. He will most likely be allowed to skip the preliminaries.

The Unites States team should be a lock for a medal, in this event. The only thing that could derail them would be a false start. If all goes well for Phelps and the US team, this could be the 21st Olympic medal of Phelps' illustrious career.

The Greatest Swimmer in the History of the US Will Retire After This Olympiad

Michael Phelps will finish out this, his fourth Olympic Games. I fully expect him to easily break the record for most Olympic medals held by an individual athlete, which currently stands at 18. Phelps has 16 medals and should surpass Soviet Gymnast Larysa Latynina.

If Phelps, who stated that these Olympics will be the end of his career, does in fact retire, he will go down in history as the greatest American swimmer of all time.

Enjoy all of the coverage of the swimming events and watch Michael Phelps as much as you can. This may be your last chance to ever see him in competition. You will be watching a truly special athlete and champion.