London watch: Phelps and Lochte a solid 1-2 punch

IRVINE, Calif. -- Last night in Irvine, for the second time in a 24-hour span, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte stood joking on the front row of the top position on the medal podium after helping the U.S. to wins in the 4x200 and 4x100 free relays on consecutive evenings.

So what was all the laughing about?

"We just said, ‘This 200 IM (Saturday) is going to sting,'" Lochte said.

Which brings us to the Phelps vs. Lochte discussion. As has already been written about, Lochte is not exactly out of central casting to fill the role of Phelps' rival, but the two swimmers, who have a good relationship, will compete directly against each other in some events, with today's 200 IM initially being one of them. But Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach, announced Saturday morning that Phelps will not swim the event today because he's "not in condition to do it." Bowman noted that Phelps is running out of steam at this meet.

While Phelps rightly commands the lion's share of attention wherever he goes and is likely to gain at least the three medals he needs to become the most decorated Olympian of all time when he swims in London, Lochte could be the swimming story of the 2012 Games.

Logistics and timing -- not skill -- could be the only things that limit Lochte's program. He has won the 200 free, 400 IM and 200 back here -- three completely different individual events. While talk of his exact London program is premature, he's become such an elite all around swimmer that talk of nine events, including the relays, does not seem like something completely out of fantasyland.

Then there's the relays, which he is becoming a force on. In Athens and Beijing, Lochte helped the U.S. to gold in the 4x200 free relay, but was not on the "marquee" 4x100 squad. As he has become a faster swimmer at shorter distances, he's worked himself into spots on the 4x100, as he did last night.

"I love the 4x100," Lochte said. "I don't get tired. (Jason) Lezak and (Nathan) Adrian are up there dying, and for me, I'm like, ‘oh, this is so short, what do I do now?'"

And there's still room for him to improve. He won last night's 200m back by more than three quarters of a second, a margin which might have been wider if he hadn't hit the lane line.

"I hit the lane line all the time when I'm outside," he said. "I'm looking at the sky and I'm off in my own world and then I'm hitting the lane line. Good thing I've got two years to work on that."

Good news for Lochte is the pool in London will be indoors, so the only stars in sight will be the likes of him and Phelps in the pool, and not in the sky.