Swimming fans to see clash of Tintans on Saturday

Nothing whets the appetite more in Olympic swimming than a genuine rivalry and this years London Games promises one of the greatest duels in the pool ever seen with the clash between team mate Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte putting the sport in a buzz.If the mens 200 metres freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, featuring Phelps, Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband, was prematurely called the race of the century, then this might as well be the matchup of the millennium.The two Americans will square off not once, but twice, in the 200 and 400m individual medleys, both lung-bursting events that drain every ounce of energy from swimmers but provide for compelling drama.For swimming fans, the wait is almost over with the 400 individual on Saturdays opening night of finals.This is going to be a special race, said Gregg Troy, the head coach of the U.S. mens team. I cant imagine a better way to promote our sport than a race like this on the first day.Natalie Coughlin, the captain of the American womens team, said the whole pool deck was excited about watching the pair duke it out over eight laps.Its going to be an awesome race, she said. And it will have a lot of energy that hopefully gives us a lot of momentum going into the next eight days.Although Phelps won the 400 individual medley at the last two Olympics and would become the first male swimmer to win the same event three times if hes victorious, he finds himself in the rare position as the underdog.He dropped the gruelling event from his programme after the Beijing Olympics and was beaten by Lochte in the race at the U.S. Olympic Trials but says he has improved since then.I feel like my stroke is getting better and things are coming together but I can only control what I do. I cant control what anyone else does, he said.While the mens 400 individual medley is the undoubted highlight, three other finals, all with compelling storylines of their own, will also feature on the opening night of finals at the London Aquatic Centre.The womens 400 individual medley could also produce an American winner with Elizabeth Beisel, who trains in Florida with Lochte, setting the fastest time in the world this year, just ahead of Chinas Zheng Rongrong.Sun Yang is the favourite to win the mens 400 metres freestyle. If he does, he will become the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming gold medal. His main rival is South Koreas Park Tae-hwan, the Beijing champion.The Netherlands are the overwhelming favourites to win the womens 4x100 freestyle relay after winning the gold medal at