丷兦_銗錵圜

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BEIJING, August 12) -- Having already secured three gold medals in his fabled bid for eight, Michael Phelps will be looking to bag another two in Wednesday's finals for the Men's 200m Butterfly and 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, Katie Hoff of the United States and Stephanie Rice of Australia will duke it out in the Women's 200m Individual Medley final. Katie Hoff will also participate in the Women's 200m Freestyle facing Federica Pellegrini of Italy and Sara Isakovic of Slovenia.

Phelps will try to dominate the Individual Medley events when he takes to the water in the Men's 200m Individual Medley. He is the defending Olympic champion, world champion and the world record holder in the event. Main challengers include his teammate Ryan Lochte, who finished third to Phelps in Sunday's 400m Individual Medley and was second to him at both the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne and at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Laszlo Cseh of Hungary, who finished second to Phelps in Sunday's Men's 400m Individual Medley, also poses a threat.

In the Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay, Phelps and his US teammates, with depth unmatched by any other country, will dominate the pool. Phelps, Lochte, Klete Keller and Peter Vanderkaay formed the US team that set a world record in the event in Melbourne in 2007. They were the world champions at the 2007 and 2005 FINA World Championships and are the defending Olympic champions.

Katie Hoff swam below her ability in collecting bronze in the Women's 400m Individual Medley on Sunday, a race she was favored to win, and lost her world record to Stephanie Rice. Hoff also lost the 400m Freestyle gold medal by the slightest margin of 0.07 seconds. Known as the "female Phelps," her chance of winning gold is still high.

Hoff is a slim favorite in the Women's 200m Freestyle and will face stiff competition from Sara Isakovic (SLO) and Federica Pellegrini. Pellegrini has set the world record in this event and the Olympic record in the Women's 400m Freestyle, both in the evening session. She qualified the third fastest for the final. Isakovic who has the second-fastest time in 2008, was the fastest qualifier. Hoff's performance in this race will show whether she could bounce back.

The Women's 200m Individual Medley features Stephanie Rice, Katie Hoff and Kirsty Coventry. Rice is probably the favorite since she is the world record holder, and the fact that she grabbed the gold medal and world record from Katie Hoff in the 400m Individual Medley will boost her up. But Rice is an inexperienced swimmer and will face a difficult challenge from the more experienced Hoff. Rice and Hoff could develop one of the sport's most enduring rivalries, as both swimmers are young and will likely continue to push one another. Coventry, however, should not be discounted. She is the Olympic bronze medalist from Athens 2004 and the silver medalist from last year's World Championships in this event. And she was the fastest qualifier from the semifinal.