Twenty-three-year-old Michael Phelps is under a lot of pressure. He tied the record for most Olympic medals won by bringing home eight medals: six gold and two bronze at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and is going for eight golds at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Phelps’ dominance in the swimming world has him being compared to Mark Spitz, who took home seven gold medals in the 1972 Summer Olympics – a world record, and many hope Phelps will take his spot. With 25 world record (22 individual + 3 relay), Phelps’ strive to win more gold will be an event worth witnessing. His events are: 200m free, 100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM, 400m IM, 4×100m free relay, 4×200m free relay, and 4×100m medley relay. Tune in to NBC during the primetime hours (8:00pm-12: 30am EST) to watch Phelps go for gold on Saturday (8/9) – Sunday (8/17).

The world record in the men's 100m dash, set in May by Jamaica's Usain Bolt: 9.72. The mark he broke, 9.74, was set by another Jamaican, Asafa Powell. At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Tyson Gay – who last year won both the 100m and 200m at the World Championships – ran a wind-aided 9.68, the fastest time in history. All three, barring a twist, should line up for what could and should be one of the greatest Olympic 100m finals of all time; always a glamour event of any Games, this one could indeed be extra special. On Saturday, Aug. 16, 10:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. in New York).

Sixteen-year-old Shawn Johnson will feel the weight of competing against the world's best gymnasts on her tiny 4 foot 8 inch frame and is preparing to defend her stance as world all-around champion. Johnson won every international competition that she entered in 2007, her first year facing those challenges and has risen to fame for her all-around talents and charisma. The teen heads to Beijing with the hopes of becoming only the third U.S. women to claim all-around gold following Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004). Johnson is favored to achieve her goal of the top prize and luckily, she thrives under pressure. Regardless of how she does, she's already a hometown hero. The Des Moines, Iowa native has a bronze version of herself stationed in the Iowa Hall of Pride and this month she'll appear as a butter sculpture next to the annual butter cow at the Iowa State Fair. Watch her on NBC Sunday (8/10) Primetime (9:30pm 12:00am EST), Tuesday (8/12) 10:30pm 12:00am EST, Thursday (8/14) 11:30pm 1:00am EST and Sunday (8/17) thru Wednesday (8/20) during the Primetime hours.

This is her fifth Olympics and at forty-one years old, she’ll be the oldest in the pool but that isn’t discouraging Dara Torres. Torres took home gold in her first and only event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and now has a total of 9 medals in her collection: 4 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze. Five of those medals were won in Sydney in 2000 and she was the oldest member of the entire Olympic team (this year a 56-year-old shooter is the oldest). Torres hasn’t been swimming the entire 24 years since her 1984 Los Angeles Olympic debut, in fact she retired twice, but this comeback has proved to be her best. Just 15 months after giving birth to her first child, Torres broke her own record in the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals, which marked her 14th win at these events. She will be competing in the 50m free and 4×100 free relay. Check her out on Saturday (8/9) during the Primetime hours (8pm-12am) and Saturday (8/16) from 7:30pm-10:00pm.

A major concern for athletes participating in longer events, like the marathon, has been and continues to be the immense amount of smog that blankets Beijing on most days. The Chinese government has spent close to $200 billion dollars since 1998 trying to fight air pollution and results are mixed on how effective these measures have been. In preparation for the Olympics, athletes have been encouraged to wear facemasks and stay inside to be ready to perform in their event. In March, the International Olympic Committee issued a report saying some events will not be conducted under optimal conditions and the Games are more about competing in the Olympic spirit, than about breaking records. It's doubtful that many athletes will agree that they are headed to the world's biggest athletic competition to put in a mediocre performance. It's possible that the schedule could be changed for the men's marathon, which is set for the last day, depending on the smog levels and organizers are looking at moving it up. Stay tuned to NBC for any updates on date changes and if runners will be forced to wear masks while running. The men's marathon is currently set for Primetime hours (7:30pm-12:00am EST) on Saturday (8/23).

They not only are great athletes – they won gold on the beach in 2004 – they are great ambassadors for the sport, indeed for sport in general. Their victory scene in Athens remains one of the most memorable in Olympic history – each taking the time before leaving the sand to thank the officials, ballboys, ballgirls, spectators, everyone. May-Treanor just recently won her 100th career tournament. If the duo prevails in Athens, Walsh will win her 100th as well. The gold-medal final: 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21 (11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20 in New York).

Women's softball was an event added for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and this year will mark the last for the short-lived experience. This is another sport where the United States Team has won gold for the past 3 Olympics and the pressure is on to take the game out with a bang. Veteran team members Jennie Finch, Laura Berg and Cat Osterman know the excitement that a gold medal brings and hope to lead their team to a fourth victory as they take on their last Olympic challenge for the foreseeable future. The ladies will begin the path to victory on Monday (8/11) against Venezuela and you can watch them play from 9:30pm 11:30pm EST. They also play on Wednesday (8/13) at the same time, Friday (8/15) from 12:00am 2:00am EST and Sunday (8/17) from 5:00am 7:00am EST to determine their placement in the following finals. Baseball will also be finishing up this year, dealing a big blow to Cuba, Japan, and the US, all countries who traditionally sent strong teams to the event.

Barring catastrophe in the heats, Liu Xiang, winner of the 2004 Athens Games men's 110-meter hurdles, will settle into the blocks just before 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21 (9:45 that same morning in New York). Perhaps no one in the history of Olympic sport will be under such pressure. In winning the 110m hurdles in Athens, Liu instantly made himself into a hero in China. Some 1.3 billion Chinese want to see if he can do it all over again in 2008. Cathy Freeman was under enormous pressure before winning the women's 400m in her native Australia at the 2000 Sydney Games. But all of Australia amounts to roughly 20 million people. This is 1.3 billion. Billion, with a b. It gets tougher still for Liu: This past June, Cuba's Dayron Robles broke what had been Liu's world record in the event, 12.88; Robles ran 12.87. American Terrence Trammell is a two-time Olympic silver medalist. Speaking in April at the U.S. Olympic Committee's media summit, Trammell said, "I see myself winning."

The USA Taekwondo Team is made up of four members and three are related. In fact Mark, Diana and Steven Lopez are siblings and have become the first set of three siblings on the U.S. Olympic Team since 1904. Diana, 24, Mark, 26, and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens) Steven will be joined by their oldest brother Jean who is also their coach. The Sugar Land, Texas natives are all hoping to bring home gold and you can watch them go for it online Tuesday (8/19) thru Saturday (8/23).

During the last 16 Summer Olympic Games ranging from 1936-2004, the United States Men’s Basketball team has won gold 12 times and one of the four games was the 1980 games when the United States boycotted the Olympics. The usually gold medal favored team was derailed at the 2004 Athens Games by losing three games and Argentina took home the top prize. This year NBA’s finest like Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) and Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) will hit the court determined to re-establish the gold medal for the U.S. Follow the “Redeem Team” starting Sunday (8/10) at 10:00am – 12:00pm EST where they’ll take on host nation China.