Phelps, Lochte dive right in, give swim competition star-studded start

LONDON -- It can't be a bad thing. Impossible. Rivalries in sport tend to create greatness, magical moments, snapshots that eventually outlive those special athletes talented enough to produce them.

Magic had Bird. Ali had Frazier. Palmer had Nicklaus.

Jerry Seinfeld had Duncan Meyer.

At any measure, over any speed, in any lane of the pool, Michael Phelps against Ryan Lochte is as strong a beginning as those running the London Olympics could have dreamed.

At the least, you have to think it will make that whole South Korean-flag-for-North-Korean-soccer-players fiasco a distant memory and (hopefully) send anything else Mitt Romney says while here to the back pages.

"For someone who wants to promote the sport of swimming, there isn't a better way in the world for Michael to do that than swim this race as one of the first events of the games," said Bob Bowman, Phelps' longtime coach. "It will be very exciting and a very tough race."

There is a major reason for the latter: The other guy is better right now.

It happens all the time. One supreme athlete (Phelps) reaches the pinnacle of his career by dominating his sport to the tune of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing while his closest rival (Lochte) watches and learns and maps out his own journey to such heights one healthy meal at a time.

He eats better over the next four years, trains harder, becomes more focused in every phase of his pursuit. He awakens one day having swum right past the almost mythical figure that has been Phelps in water.

He trades daily trips to McDonald's for chicken breasts and workouts that include tossing kegs instead of drinking them. He flips tires, chasing the legend with ridiculous abandon.

"He's human," Lochte said of Phelps before the U.S. swimming trials in June. "He's not a fish."

Well, maybe more tuna than marlin nowadays.

Still, a really fast tuna.

The first of what London hopes will be many memorable athletic showdowns in the next two weeks features Phelps and Lochte, who will oppose each other in the 400-meter individual medley tonight at the Aquatics Center inside Olympic Park.

"I'm not just here to swim against Michael," Lochte said Thursday. "He's one person. I can't say he's my enemy. He's my competition. We've created a great rivalry, but at the same time created a great friendship. We're still going to be friends when this is all over. I hope it stays that way."

Translation: He's not a bad guy. We play cards all the time. Once we hit water, I want to kick his teeth in.

Fans love Lochte. Women want him. Sponsors trip over themselves to sign him. The guy is more branded than a NASCAR driver. Sunglasses. T-shirts. Hats. Vests. Coffee mugs. Trading cards.

His nickname is Reezy.

Phelps' nickname is, well, Phelps.

Lochte has skillfully combined cool with talent and become the world's best swimmer as Phelps struggled deciding after Beijing whether his mind and body and will were up for another four-year grind.

It took him nearly two years to agree they were.

Phelps has 10 more Olympic medals than Lochte and has rewritten history one gold after another, but there is no question who has been America's finest in the pool the past few years. The class clown. The guy on magazine covers and photographed in the pool during training sessions here with Australian beauty Blair Evans. The guy who beat Phelps in the 400 IM at trials and twice at the world championships last year.

The two also will meet in the 200 individual medley. Phelps will swim seven events here, including three relays, and Lochte four. They have delivered swimming to a mainstream doorstep the sport has known few times in its history.

Phelps could depart London the most decorated Olympian in history; Lochte could depart it as the biggest star these games produce.

Everyone will be better for it.

It can't be a bad thing. Impossible.

"Being able to watch some of the things (Lochte) has done and be on the receiving end of some of the defeats he has given me has definitely motivated me, just because I hate to lose," Phelps said. "One of the cool things about being able to race him, it doesn't matter what shape I'm in, I always leave every ounce of energy in the pool. He brings every drop that I have out of my system.

"It's not fun to lose. Winning means something to me again. It's going to be fun."

You couldn't script a better beginning to London 2012 than this.

It's Jerry against Duncan, but in the pool and not the street.

Watch out for any double-decker bus backfiring.

No head starts, please.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.