What to Watch For: Day 4

Another day in Beijing. Another TV lineup that surrounds Michael Phelps. Shouldn’t be a surprise by now though. The man is going for history here. Here’s what you can look forward to tonight on NBC’s primetime coverage of the Games of the 29th Olympiad. Phelps can become the greatest Olympic champion in history when he races for possibly his fourth and fifth gold medals of the Beijing Games (tenth and eleventh of his career) in the 200m fly (10:21 PM ET) and 4x200m free relay (11:19 PM ET). Phelps is favored to win both events. The all-time record for career golds is nine, which is currently shared by five athletes including Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis and now Phelps after winning his first three events in China. In the women’s 200m IM (11:12 PM ET), Katie Hoff and Natalie Coughlin of the U.S. compete against a field that includes Australia’s Stephanie Rice and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, both of whom recorded sub-Olympic record times in qualifying. The women’s 200m free is also contested, with Katie Hoff being America’s medal hope (10:14 PM ET). And even though they stumbled in the qualifiers, the reigning world champion U.S. women’s gymnastics team, led talented teenagers Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, face off against formidable China, among others in the women’s team final (10:30 PM ET).