Michael Phelps London 2012 vs. Beijing 2008: Do Latest Olympic Performances Signal Phelps Lost the Golden Touch?

Michael Phelps of the U.S. reacts after taking third place in his men's 200m butterfly heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Photo : Reuters)

Heading to the London 2012 Summer Olympics, all eyes are on swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, as the latter has been receiving momentum from earlier trials, speculating that a Phelps-gold medal winning streak similar to the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics won’t take place.

Leading up to the London 2012 Olympics, questions arose after reports stated Phelps has been training seriously. According to Phelps’ training partner Tyler Clary, Phelps’ work ethic is not the same compared to the training to the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

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Swimmer Michael Phelps won a record 8 medals at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics (Photo Credit: Reuters).

"I saw a real lack of preparation (from) him,” said Clary. “Basically, he was a swimmer that didn't want to be there. They can talk about all of these goals and plans and preparation they have. I saw it. I know. It's different. "
In an interview NBC’s Today, when asked about what he’s doing in preparation to the 2012 Olympics, Phelps said, “I've pretty much just been watching TV shows. I started The Wire, and I'm catching up on Breaking Bad. A little bit of pretty much just sitting around watching shows and movies."

Fans of Team USA would like to hope Phelps was sharing a joke, but perhaps the joke came into reality once Phelps swam his first race at the London 2012 Olympics. The decorated Olympian barely qualified for the final of the 400-meter Individual Medley.

“That one didn’t feel too good,” Phelps said after the swim.

Phelps is the two-time defending champion of the 400-meter Individual Medley, and won the first heat with 4 minutes and 13.33 seconds. The time landed him first in the heat but was off his world record 4:03.84 set in Beijing 2008.

After returning to the US after the successful wins at Beijing, Phelps was celebrated down Main Street U.S.A with Mickey Mouse during a parade at Walt Disney World. (Photo Credit: Reuters).

“My first race is always the worst one,” he said. “I’m glad I got the cobwebs out.”

The cobwebs might have stuck onto Phelps during the final of the 400-meter Individual Medley later that night as Phelps landed in a shocking fourth place. The defending champion’s opportunity to continue the streak was lost as the gold medal went to fellow rival Lochte.

"I've said this before, that this is my year," Lochte said. "I know and I feel it, just because I've put in hard work. I've trained my butt off for four years. And I just feel it inside my gut, that this is my year," said Lochte.

"It's weird not having Michael on the medal stand," Lochte added.

"I felt great for the first 200m, but after that it just didn't happen. I had the chance to get off on a good note but didn't do it," Phelps told the BBC.

Eyes were set on Phelps again for the Men’s 4x100-meter Freestyle Medley, where he’ll team with Adrian Nathan, Cullen Jones, and Lochte. Back in Beijing 2008, Team USA won gold in this race with a time of 3:08.24. The luck for gold was pulled under Phelps and Team USA as France pulled the upset. Team USA would win silver with a time of 3:08.10. However, criticism was pointed to Lochte, the anchor of the team, who was at one point leading over French anchor Yannick Angel.

Nathan Adrian, Michael Phelps, Cullen Jones and Ryan Lochte of the U.S. pose with their silver medals in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay victory ceremony during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre (Photo Credit: Reuters).

Phelps so far has not managed to capture the glory of the Beijing 2008 games. It was reported before the London 2012 games started that this is his last Olympic games.

Even if Phelps doesn’t manage to recapture the glory of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, he can still leave London knowing he holds the record for most gold medals under one Summer Olympics (2008) and seven world records with three breaking his own.

"Records are always made to be broken no matter what they are," Phelps told reporters. "Anybody can do anything that they set their mind to."

Michael Phelps’ Schedule
July 31
Men's 200m Butterfly
2:47 p.m. ET - Finals
Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay
6:02 a.m. ET - Qualification
2:47 p.m. ET - Finals

August 1
Men's 200m Individual Medley
6:06 a.m. ET - Qualifications
3:36 p.m. ET - Semifinals

August 2
Men's 100m Butterfly
6:14 a.m. ET - Heats
3:51 p.m. ET - Semifinals
Men's 200m Individual Medley
3:16 p.m. ET - Finals

August 3
Men's 4x100m Medley Relay
6:49 a.m. ET - Heats
Men's 100m Butterfly
2:38 p.m. ET - Finals

August 4
Men's 4x100m Medley Relay
3:27 p.m. ET - Finals