Swimming

Beijing recap
Michael Phelps dominated in the pool at the Beijing Games, winning eight gold medals in eight events to break Mark Spitz's single-Games record for gold medals (200m free, 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM, 400m IM, 4x100m free relay, 4x200m free relay, 4x100m medley relay). He swam 17 times over nine days and broke the world record in four of his five individual swims. His three relay teams also set world marks.

Other standout performers were Australian Stephanie Rice (three golds), Americans Ryan Lochte (three golds, two bronze), Natalie Coughlin (one gold, two silvers, three bronze), Aaron Peirsol (two gold, one silver) and Dara Torres (three silvers).

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More on Olympic swimming

The 2012 Olympic swimming program comprises 32 pool events as well as the 10k open water event, which debuted in Beijing. With noted exceptions, the following strokes and distances are contested by both men and women:

Freestyle
50m (one length of the pool)
100m (two lengths)
200m (four lengths)
400m (eight lengths)
800m (16 lengths; women only)
1500m (30 lengths; men only)
10k (open water swim)

Backstroke
100m (two lengths)
200m (four lengths)

Breaststroke
100m (two lengths)
200m (four lengths)

Butterfly
100m (two lengths)
200m (four lengths)

Individual medley
200m (four lengths)
400m (eight lengths)

Relays
4x100m Freestyle (each swimmer swims two lengths)
4x200m Freestyle (each swimmer swims four lengths)
4x100m Medley Relay (each swimmer swims a different stroke two lengths; the order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle)

The IM
The individual medley, commonly referred to as the "IM," features all four competitive strokes. In the IM, a swimmer begins with the butterfly, changes to the backstroke after a quarter of the race, swims the breaststroke for another quarter and finishes with the freestyle.

The relays
In the freestyle relays, four swimmers from the same country each swim a quarter of the total distance. As in the medley relay, no individual may swim more than one leg of the relay. An individual world record in the 100m freestyle or 200m freestyle can be set in a relay race, but only by an athlete swimming the first leg. A relay start is considerably faster because swimmers can leave the blocks up to .03 of a second before the previous swimmer touches the wall. A relay start is generally considered to make for a split time about .6 faster than a flat start. In the medley relay, all four strokes are swum by four different swimmers. No athlete may swim more than one leg of the relay. The stroke order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. It is possible to set a world record in the 100m backstroke (the first leg) in this race.