Ryan Lochte will target his second gold medal on day three of the Olympics here Monday as America’s swimmers attempt to bounce back from the shock of losing their 4×100 relay crown.
Lochte, who got his Games campaign off to a flier on Saturday when he crushed compatriot and long-time rival Michael Phelps to win the 400m medley, suffered a reality check on Sunday in the United States’ relay loss to France.
The 27-year-old will line up in the 200m freestyle final against China’s Sun Yang, who will also be targeting his second gold of the Games after his win in the 400m freestyle on Saturday.
Lochte has the opportunity to avenge the USA’s relay defeat when he lines up against Yannick Agnel, the Frenchman who reeled him in over the last leg.
Phelps meanwhile will attempt to get his individual campaign back on track following his chastening loss in the 400m medley final when he begins the defence of his 200m butterfly crown.
The four swimming medals on offer are among a total of 12 up for grabs across all competitions as the Olympics gets into full swing on Monday.
Host nation Great Britain, still awaiting their first gold of the Games, will be hoping diving star Tom Daley can challenge for honours in the 10m synchronised platform final where he competes with partner Peter Waterfield.
The first medals in artistic gymnastics will be decided with the men’s team final event, where China and Japan will attempt to put poor qualifying displays behind them to challenge for gold.
Japan and China, the dominant force in Beijing in 2008, had been expected to fight it out for the major honours in London, but they were eclipsed by the United States, Russia and Britain on Saturday’s opening day.
Japan ended in fifth position in the overall team ranking, with reigning Olympic champions China one place below them in sixth.
Japan superstar Kohei Uchimura has warned his team-mates not to become fixated on China as they prepare for the final, which he blamed for their poor performance in qualifying.
“We were all more or less thinking about how the Chinese were going to perform, so it might have affected our performance,” he said.
“From now on, we’ll try not to think about how the Chinese team are going to do and just try to do our best.”
Defending champions China will become the first team since Japan in 1976 to successfully retain the team title if they recover to win gold.
China, who were leading the medal table with six golds after Sunday’s action, will also attempt to maintain their dominance in the shooting, where Zhu Qinan can become the first man to win medals in the 10m air rifle competition at three separate Olympics.
