Day 4 of the 2012 Olympic games is yet another opportunity to see the battles in the pool, with the men’s 4×200 meters relay, with the United States hoping to retain their gold medal from 2008 and the world championships as Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are no longer such a sure thing.

More in the pool on the day – Women’s 200 meters freestyle, Men’s 200 meters butterfly and Women’s 200 meters individual medley. We’ll also have finals in Canoeing, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, shooting and weightlifting.

Canoeing – Men’s slalom C-1

Of the 12 men heading into the semi final, Michal Martikán of Slovakia finished with the best times in the preliminary round. Adding the fact that he’s the Olympic champion in this event twice (2008, 1996) makes him the favorite. Sideris Tasiadis, the European champion, David Florence, the silver medalist from Beijing, Tony Estanguet, two time gold medalist and Stanislav Ježek are all in the running. Final – 15:06.

Diving – Women’s synchronized 10 meters platform

Hard to see anyone but the Chinese duo of Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao, the world champions from last year, winning the gold medal. Chen Ruolin is also the Olympic champion.

Equestrian

Individual eventing – 10:30. There will also be medals in the team eventing. Michael Jung (Germany) is the world champion, with William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain, Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand and Kristina Cook of Great Britain in the running for gold.

Fencing – Men’s Foil

The final will be early in the morning, with the competition beginning at 09:00. Benjamin Kleibrink of Germany is the gold medalist from Beijing but didn’t medal in the world championships. Andrea Baldini of Italy, Peter Joppich of Germany, Yuki Ota of Japan and Andrea Cassarà of Italy should also be considered favorites for gold.

Gymnastics – Women’s artistic team all-around

A battle between China and the United States. The Chinese team won gold in Beijing, while the Americans won the gold in the most recent edition of the world championships, where Russia took silver and China took bronze.

Judo – Women’s 63 KG and Men’s 81 KG

Women’s 63 kilograms – Elisabeth Willeboordse, the bronze medalist from Beijing; Gévrise Émane of France, the world champion; Yoshie Ueno of Japan and Urška Žolnir of Slovenia are favorites to come up with gold.

Men’s 81 kilograms – Ole Bischof of Germany, the Olympic champion; Kim Jae-Bum the World Champion; Srđan Mrvaljević of Montenegro and Leandro Guilhheiro of Brazil are favorites to come up with gold.

Shooting – Men’s Skeet

Vincent Hancock of the United States, the gold medalist from Beijing, is also leading the scores after the qualification round and will likely be the man with the gold medal at the end of the day.

Swimming

Women’s 200 meters freestyle – The Olympic and world champion, Italian Federica Pellegrini, doesn’t look as the favorite she was supposed to be, with Bronte Barratt, Allison Schmitt and Camille Muffat all looking capable of winning gold as well.

Men’s 200 meters butterfly – This is Michael Phelps’ event, trying to become the first man to win a gold medal in the same event in three consecutive Olympic games. Dinko Jukic, Takeshi Matsuda, Chad le Clos, Yin Chen and Tyler Clary all look capabale of finishing in the top 3 and maybe even beat Phelps.

Women’s 200 meters individual medley – Stephanie Rice of Australia is the Olympic champion but missed on the medals in the World championships, entering the finals with a disappointing time compared to the rest, in what looks like a very open race, with Chinese world champion Ye Shiwen, setting an Olympic record in the semifinal, is the clear favorite to come up with gold.

Men’s 4×200 meters freestyle relay – Usually an American event by a mile, but Lochte and Phelps aren’t the same as they were four years ago or even a year ago. It also depends on if Phelps actually is included in the foursome, having a ‘fly final a bit earlier. France and China are the obvious choice for those who can cause an upset.

Weightlifting – Men’s 69 KG at 10:00, Women’s 63 KG at 12:30.