Swimming: Phelps and Lochte ready for London 2012

SHOTLIST:

VICHY, FRANCE, JULY 21, 2012 (SOURCE: AFPTV)

- VAR US Olympic swimmers training

SOUNDBITE 1 Michael Phelps (man) US Olympic Swimmer (English, 24 secs):
"Everyone is smiling, everyone is joking, it is a very laid back camp and we are all excited and like Ryan said this chance happens once every four years and we are all definitely excited."

- VAR US Olympic swimmers training

SOUNDBITE 3 Ryan Lochte (man) US Olympic Swimmer (23 secs) :
"We train four years for that moment so there is no doubt in my mind that the team US will definitely be ready for London and like Michael said the last two weeks we've just been changing the little things that we've noticed that were wrong in trials. And we've just tried to change them and make it better so that we can have those perfect races in London." 

- VAR US Olympic swimmers training

SOUNDBITE 4 Missy Franklin (woman) US Olympic Swimmer (English, 23 secs):
"I think that we are gonna be absolutely faster in London just beeing able to watch the practises and watching my team work so hard these past two weeks it's just incredible. And we've definitely been working on these smallest things because they are those that can really make a difference. So I think we are all gonna be so ready to race in London and have those swins that are probably gonna be the best swims of our lives."

- VAR US Olympic swimmers training
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AFP TEXT STORY

American superstar Michael Phelps warmed up for the Olympics on Saturday in France, laughing and cracking jokes with teammates and 2,000 spectators who watched him in training.

"Everyone is smiling, everyone is making jokes," said Phelps at an open public session in the swimming centre at Vichy.

"We are all very excited, we all laugh a lot in and around the pool."

Phelps was the star attraction in Saturday's session along with Ryan Lochte and teenage sensation Missy Franklin.

Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and six golds and two bronzes at the 2004 Athens Games, will dispute seven events at the London Olympics.

"Obviously, we always want to do our best and swim the fastest, they are the main objectives," added Phelps, who hopes to set a new record at the London Olympics.

Three more medals will make him the most successful Olympian of all time, beating the 18 won between 1956 and 1964 by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.

Lochte, a triple Olympic champion, can put a huge hole in Phelps's dreams when the two clash in the 200m and 400m relays.

"We have trained for the last four years for this moment and I am certain our team will be ready for London. As Michael said, we have spent the last two weeks working on any little problems," said Lochte.

Franklin, just 17, was equally optimistic about the team's prospects at the Games.

"I think we will be the fastest in London. When I look at our training and I see the team working so hard for the last two weeks, it's really impressive," said Franklin.

Like Phelps and Lochte, the teenager will also race seven events at the Games.

The US team won over a huge army of fans during their session on Saturday.

"We live just an hour away but we are originally from the United States," said Amy, who was watching with her son Matthew, a fan of Phelps and Lochte.

"My son is a swimmer. He swims in France but he started in the United States."

The American team have been based in Vichy since July 15 and completed their day with a garden party where the swimmers made the most of local food after a week where their eating habits were strictly monitored.

Heading into London, the US team aim to stay top of the medals table in swimming, a position they have held since 1992.

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