Wu Minxia will be out to make history by equalling fellow Chinese diver Guo Jingjing’s Olympic Games record of winning six medals
LONDON, England ● As Day 2 begins at London 2012, much of the focus will again be on the Aquatics Centre, where some of the biggest names in Swimming go for glory in the pool.
Michael Phelps of the United States dives off of the starting block as he competes in heat four of the men’s 400m Individual Medley.
After the disappointment of his opening-day defeat to Ryan Lochte in the men’s 400m Individual Medley, USA great Michael Phelps can bounce back and add to his incredible gold medal haul with the help of his team-mates in the men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay.
That will be one of four medal races during the evening session, which also includes the finals of the men’s 100m Breaststroke, women’s 100m Butterfly and the women’s 400m Freestyle, when the home support could lift the roof off the venue if Rebecca Adlington can defend the title she won at Beijing 2008.
In between the morning heats and evening finals, the Diving competition also gets under way, and China will be planning a repeat of their dominance on home soil four years ago.
Wu Minxia will be out to make history by equalling fellow Chinese diver Guo Jingjing’s Olympic Games record of winning six medals when she competes in the women’s 3m Synchro alongside He Zi.
Day two of London 2012 will also see the first day of Sailing at Weymouth and Portland, where Britain’s Ben Ainslie will again look to rule the waves as he starts his quest to add to his three Olympic Games gold medals and a silver when he competes in the Finn class.
There will be royalty participating too – and not a parachute in sight – as Zara Phillips makes her long-awaited Olympic Equestrian debut at Greenwich Park.
The Queen’s granddaughter missed out in 2004 and 2008 due to injuries to her horse, Toytown, but she will be hoping for third time lucky when she competes in the Individual and Team events.
In Cycling, it is the women’s turn to battle it out in the Road Race around a 140km course, which starts and finishes on The Mall and features two climbs of Box Hill.
Marianne Vos of the Netherlands is one of the favourites but will face tough competition from Britain’s defending champion Nicole Cooke and her team-mate Lizzie Armitstead, as well as the likes of Italy’s Giorgia Bronzini and Shelley Olds of the United States.
More Shooting medals will be handed out in the women’s 10m Air Pistol and women’s Skeet events, as well as the men’s -66kg and women’s -52kg judo competitions.
There are also Archery, Weightlifting and Fencing finals.