Olympic Swimming 2012 Schedule: Daily Listings, TV Coverage Info and More

It's finally here: Our chance to see whether Michael Phelps can do it again. Or whether Ryan Lochte can upstage him. Or whether Missy Franklin can really win a record seven medals. 

The 2012 Olympic Games have begun, and on Saturday, the sport that always ends up being one of America's favorites—swimming—kicks off.

Olympic swimming is interesting because, this summer, it isn't even about the international competition—at least for those of us watching in the U.S. It's about the best national rivalry there is, between the stoic champion and his affable yet surprisingly formidable rival.

If Phelps racks up a few more medals to add to the 16 he already has, we'll all be suitably impressed. But we may even be even happier if Lochte conquers the odds and wins a few of his own.

Here's everything you need to know about where and when to watch Olympic swimming this summer.

Where: London, England

When: Saturday, July 28 - Friday, August 10 

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Note: If you want to watch the swimming events live, NBCOlympics.com's live stream is your best bet. The events will be shown bright and early, but they'll be in real time. If you wait to watch NBC's TV coverage, you'll be seeing nearly everything on a tape delay. 

You can see the entire TV schedule here.

You can see the entire live stream schedule here.

Full Swimming Schedule (via NBCOlympics.com)

Saturday, July 28

TV Coverage

1:30-2:30 p.m. ET: Qualifying heats

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, men's and women's 400-meter individual medley 

Live Stream

4:55 a.m. ET: Preliminary heats: Includes men's 400-meter IM, women's 100-meter butterfly

2:25 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes men's 400-meter IM, women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay

Sunday, July 29

TV Coverage

11-11:45 a.m. ET: 17 qualifying races in six events

1:30-2 p.m. ET: More qualifying heats

7 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, including men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay 

Live Stream

4:55 a.m. ET: Preliminary heats: Includes women's 100-meter backstroke, men's 200-meter freestyle

2:25 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes men's 4x100-meter freestyle, women's 100-meter butterfly

Monday, July 30

TV Coverage

10-10:30 a.m. ET: Qualifying heats

1:45-2:30 p.m. ET: More qualifying heats

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, including men's 200-meter freestyle

Live Stream

5 a.m. ET: Preliminary heats: Includes women's 200-meter free, men's 200-meter fly

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes men's 200-meter free, women's 100-meter back

Tuesday, July 31

TV Coverage

10:30-11:15 a.m. ET: Qualifying heats, including men's 4x200-meter free relay

1:30-2 p.m. ET: More qualifying events

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, including men's 200-meter butterfly

Live Stream

5 a.m. ET: Preliminaries: Includes men's 100-meter free, women's 200-meter butterfly

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes women's 200-meter free, Men's 200-meter butterfly

Wednesday, August 1 

TV Coverage

11:05-11:30 a.m. ET: Qualifying, including men's 200-meter back and 200-meter individual medley 

12:30-1:20 p.m. ET: More qualifying

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals

Live Stream

5 a.m. ET: Preliminaries: Includes women's 100-meter free, men's 200-meter IM

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes men's 100-meter free, Women's 200-meter butterfly

Thursday, August 2

TV Coverage

10-10:15 a.m. ET: Qualifying, including men's 100-meter butterfly and women's 200-meter backstroke

10:40-11:30 a.m. ET: More qualifying

12:30-12:45 p.m. ET: More qualifying

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals

Live Stream

5 a.m. ET: Preliminaries: Includes men's 100-meter fly, women's 200-meter backstroke

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes men's 200-meter IM, women's 100-meter freestyle

Friday, August 3

TV Coverage

10:45-11:30 a.m. ET: Qualifying, including men's 4x100-meter medley

2-2:30 p.m. ET: Qualifying, including women's 50-meter free and men's 4x100-meter medley relay

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, including men's 100-meter butterfly

Live Stream

5 a.m. ET: Preliminaries: Includes women's 50-meter free, Men's 4x100-meter medley

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes women's 200-meter backstroke, Men's 100-meter backstroke

Saturday, August 4

TV Coverage

8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET: Finals, including men's and women's medley relays 

Live Stream

2:30 p.m. ET: Finals: Includes women's 50-meter freestyle, men's and women's 4x100-meter medley relay

Thursday, August 9

TV Coverage

11:45 a.m.-12 p.m. ET: Women's 10k marathon (in progress)

12:45-1 p.m. ET: More coverage of the women's 10k

Live Stream

7 a.m. ET: Finals: Women's 10k open-water marathon

Friday, August 10

TV Coverage

12:15-12:30 p.m. ET: Men's 10k marathon coverage

1:30-1:45 p.m. ET: More men's 10k coverage

Live Stream

7 a.m. ET: Finals: Men's 10k open-water marathon

Top Events to Watch 

Men's 200-Meter Freestyle Final: Monday, July 30 

TV: 8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET 

Live Stream: 2:30 p.m. ET

Assuming they both make it through the qualifying heats, this is when we get to see Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte go up against in each other in the one event Lochte may have the upper hand.

Although Phelps won the last gold medal in the event in 2008, Lochte beat Phelps in the 200-meter freestyle at the World Championships in July of 2011 in China. According to USA Today, Lochte's time was one minute, 44.44 seconds, and Phelps finished the race in 1:44:79.

At this year's trials, Phelps won the event, but that doesn't really mean anything. It's unlikely that either of them was swimming at full throttle during the trials. 

After the 2011 World Championships, in an interview with USA Today, Phelps raised an interesting point about why he secretly likes going up against his biggest rival:

"

I think I kind of woke him up the first 100 and he sort of went with me. We bring the best out of each other. That's something that I look forward to about racing him whenever I have the chance.

"

That is precisely why these two are going to be so fun to watch this summer. Without each other, they may not be able to achieve the same levels of greatness that they achieve when they're so desperate and so driven to beat each other.

Phelps knows that Lochte can beat him, but at least Lochte drives him to be a better swimmer, too.

Women's 200-Meter Backstroke Final: Friday, August 3 

TV: 8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET 

Live Stream: 2:30 p.m. ET

Seventeen-year-old American sensation Missy Franklin is expected to compete in seven events this summer, but this one bodes to be one of her best.

During last month's trials, she set a U.S. record in the 100-meter backstroke when she swam it in 58.85 seconds, and according to the Denver Post, she swam the event a mere 18 minutes after she finished the 200-meter freestyle semis.

Franklin also won the 200-meter backstroke at the trials, and now, the only concern is whether or not swimming in seven events will deplete her stamina. Her coach, Todd Schmitz, isn't worried. From what he's seen at the trials, his star is ready for whatever challenges the Olympics workload will present.

After the trials, Schmitz told the Denver Post:

"

I was very impressed how she could keep rolling. Even in the press conference Wednesday night [when she first made the Olympic team] after the 100 back, she said, "I'm not thinking about London." And she wasn't. She was thinking about the next day.

"

At the 2008 Games, Natalie Coughlin won a record six medals. Franklin has a chance to tie—and even break—that record. If she does, she has to be considered one of the top female Olympians of all time.