A fan’s guide to Sunday at the Olympics

Story of the day:

Michael Phelps is back in the water after a fourth-place finish in the 400-metre individual medley, off the podium. On the verge of history, Phelps needs three medals from his remaining six events to own the most medals in Olympic history. This time he won’t have to worry about facing off against countryman (and 400m IM gold-medal winner) Ryan Lochte, as they will be working together in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Diving into the record books:

Montreal’s Émilie Heymans has the chance to become the first diver ever to medal in four consecutive Olympic games. She will compete with Jennifer Able in the synchronized 3m springboard. The duo won silver at the 2011 World Championships and come to London as the No. 2 ranked team.

Worth waking up early for:

Canada’s women’s eights rowing look to win big. At the helm for the women will be coxswain Lesley Thompson-Willie. The 52-year-old won her first Olympic medal in 1984, before two of her teammates at this Games were even born, and she has won another three medals since. A strong performance in the heats will qualify them directly for the finals on Thursday. The heats start at 7 a.m. EST/ 4 a.m. PST.

Living the Dream:

The U.S. men’s basketball team makes its debut against France. The 2012 “Dream Team” will likely blow out the competition, as the Americans have an abundance of all-stars including Lebron James, Kobe Byrant and Kevin Durant. However, no team will be scrutinized more if they don’t win by a significant margin, especially since Bryant said this team could beat the original 1992 U.S. Dream Team (which featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson). Sports media ran with the story, all pointing out how ’92 Dream Team status is unattainable, so it’s time for Kobe and company to step up.

Canadian content:

At 39, Clara Hughes is competing in her final Olympics—though we all thought that of Vancouver, so you never know. Hughes is the only Canadian to have won multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics, her first cycling to bronze in Atlanta 1996. She has since added speed-skating medals at every Winter Games since 2002, including gold in Torino 2006. This time she will be back on her bike for the road race, hoping to bring home a medal from a fifth Olympic Games.