Medal Picks

200-meter backstroke
• Aaron Peirsol, U.S.
• Ryan Lochte, U.S.
• Markus Rogan, Austria
Peirsol won in '04 after his DQ for illegal turn was reversed.

100-meter breaststroke
• Brendan Hansen, U.S.
• Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
• Alexander Dale Oen, Norway "Frog" Kitajima's website is frogtown.jp.

200-meter breaststroke
• Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
• Brenton Rickard, Australia
• Hugues Duboscq, France
Hansen's failure to qualify makes Kitajima a huge favorite.

100-meter butterfly
• Michael Phelps, U.S.
• Ian Crocker, U.S.
• Milorad Cavic, Serbia
Together Phelps and Crocker have the 17 fastest times ever.

200-meter butterfly
• Michael Phelps, U.S.
• Wu Peng, China
• Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland
Phelps has nine of the 10 fastest times ever.

200-meter individual medley
• Michael Phelps, U.S.
• Ryan Lochte, U.S.
• László Cseh, Hungary
Together Phelps and Lochte have the 13 fastest times ever.

400-meter individual medley
• Michael Phelps, U.S.
• Ryan Lochte, U.S.
• László Cseh, Hungary
With Lochte swimming well, this is a risky event for Phelps.

4 × 100-meter freestyle relay
• U.S.
• France
• South Africa
Surprising French could also derail Phelps.

4 × 200-meter freestyle relay
• U.S.
• Australia
• Italy
U.S. rallied past Aussies for thrilling win in Athens.

4 × 100-meter medley relay
• U.S.
• Russia
• Australia
Barring disqualification, this is U.S.'s safest relay gold.