London 2012: Predictions

London 2012 has arrived. On Saturday, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Laszlo Cseh will step onto the blocks for the men’s 400 IM to kick off the swimming competition, and right here, I have predicted the finishes of every event in the pool. No other predictions influenced my thoughts here; I decided on most events in the week after the U.S. Olympic Trials wrapped up, though I struggled picking some of the medalists. For example, I made tough decisions to leave Brent Hayden out of the top three in the men’s 100 free and Caitlin Leverenz out of the medals in the women’s 200 IM. The days and weeks of speculation have ended. Who will take home the hardware?

Swimming World will host a prediction contest for the Olympics, led by user Aquanaut. Aquanaut has included a winning time prediction in his contest. I know, been a few years since I’ve been brave enough to call times, but I’ll give that a shot. Don’t laugh at me if I’m off!

Men:

50 Free

1. Cesar Cielo, Brazil – 21.21

2. Anthony Ervin, USA

3. James Magnussen, Australia

100 Free

1. James Magnussen, Australia – 47.15

2. Cesar Cielo, Brazil

3. Nathan Adrian, USA

200 Free

1. Ryan Lochte, USA – 1:43.67

2. Yannick Agnel, France

3. Park Tae Hwan, South Korea

400 Free

1. Sun Yang, China – 3:40.70

2. Park Tae Hwan, South Korea

3. Paul Biedermann, Germany

1500 Free

1. Sun Yang, China – 14:33.25 WR

2. Ryan Cochrane, Canada

3. Ous Mellouli, Tunisia

100 Back

1. Matt Grevers, USA – 51.88 WR

2. Camille Lacourt, France

3. Ryosuke Irie, Japan

200 Back

1. Ryan Lochte, USA – 1:52.88

2. Ryosuke Irie, Japan

3. Tyler Clary, USA

100 Breast

1. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan – 58.69

2. Fabio Scozolli, Italy

3. Brendan Hansen, USA

200 Breast

1. Daniel Gyurta, Hungary – 2:07.72

2. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan

3. Marco Koch, Germany

100 Fly

1. Michael Phelps, USA – 50.33

2. Milorad Cavic, Serbia

3. Konrad Czerniak, Poland

200 Fly

1. Michael Phelps, USA – 1:52.09

2. Takeshi Matsuda, Japan

3. Chad Le Clos, South Africa

200 IM

1. Michael Phelps, USA – 1:53.67 WR

2. Ryan Lochte, USA

3. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary

400 IM

1. Ryan Lochte, USA – 4:05.12

2. Michael Phelps, USA

3. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary

400 Free Relay

1. Australia – 3:09.93

2. USA

3. France

800 Free Relay

1. USA – 6:59.45

2. France

3. Russia

400 Medley Relay

1. USA – 3:29.88

2. Australia

3. France

Women:

50 Free

1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands – 23.94

2. Therese Alshammar, Sweden

3. Britta Steffen, Germany

100 Free

1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands – 52.70

2. Fran Halsall, Great Britain

3. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

200 Free

1. Allison Schmitt, USA – 1:54.17

2. Camille Muffat, France

3. Federica Pellegrini, Italy

400 Free

1. Camille Muffat, France – 4:01.35

2. Federica Pellegrini, Italy

3. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain

800 Free

1. Rebecca Adlington, Great Britain – 8:15.97

2. Lotte Friis, Denmark

3. Katie Ledecky, USA

100 Back

1. Missy Franklin, USA – 58.66

2. Anastasia Zueva, Russia

3. Zhao Jing, China

200 Back

1. Missy Franklin, USA – 2:04.63 WR

2. Belinda Hocking, Australia

3. Elizabeth Beisel, USA

100 Breast

1. Rebecca Soni, USA – 1:04.76

2. Yuliya Efimova, Russia

3. Leisel Jones, Australia

200 Breast

1. Rebecca Soni, USA – 2:19.81 WR

2. Yuliya Efimova, Russia

3. Satomi Suzuki, Japan

100 Fly

1. Dana Vollmer, USA – 56.12

2. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

3. Alicia Coutts, Australia

200 Fly

1. Jiao Liuyang, China – 2:04.24

2. Ellen Gandy, Great Britain

3. Natsumi Hoshi, Japan

200 IM

1. Yi Siwen, China – 2:08.73

2. Stephanie Rice, Australia

3. Alicia Coutts, Australia

400 IM

1. Elizabeth Beisel, USA – 4:30.21

2. Hannah Miley, Great Britain

3. Stephanie Rice, Australia

400 Free Relay

1. Netherlands – 3:33.26

2. USA

3. Australia

800 Free Relay

1. USA – 7:42.45

2. Australia

3. China

400 Medley Relay

1. USA – 3:51.67 WR

2. Australia

3. China

I pick Elizabeth Beisel to win gold in the 400 IM and set a new American record.