London (CNN) -- Ryan Lochte captured America's first gold
medal of the 2012 Olympic games, soundly defeating rival U.S. swimming icon
Michael Phelps on Saturday in the highly anticipated men's 400-meter individual
medley -- a race that combines four different strokes.
Brazil's Thiago Pereira secured
the silver medal, while Phelps did not medal, coming in fourth place. Japan's
Kosuke Hagina won bronze.
"I put the work in," Lochte said
after the race. "I'm just going out there and having fun, and doing what I do
best."
Both men had made it through
qualifying heats to the final -- Phelps only by a whisker.
His slightly below-par
performance put the former champion in lane 8 rather than in the preferred
middle lanes, where there's less chance of disruption from other swimmers'
waves.
Lochte was in lane 3.
The 27-year-old Phelps, who
already has 14 gold medals from previous Games, had been looking to add to his
pot of Olympic gold, but the Games' attention quickly shifted to Lochte's
dominating Saturday performance.
"I know it's my time and I'm
ready," said Lochte.
Meanwhile, China claimed the
first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games on Saturday, with a victory for
23-year-old Siling Yi in the women's 10-meter air rifle shooting.
"I'm very excited and happy,"
she said, quoted by the official Games website. The world's No. 1, who started
shooting at age 13, said there had been "a lot of pressure" on her to
perform.
The first American medal of the
day was a silver, after the nation's men's archery team fell to Italy in a
riveting gold medal match that wasn't determined until the final arrow.
The U.S. women's football team
also ousted Colombia 3-0 on Saturday, securing a quarter-final spot.
But the Games weren't without
controversy.
Earlier, Albanian weightlifter
Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be sanctioned for
failing an anti-doping test at the London Games.
Pulaku, 20, tested positive
Monday for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol, the International Olympic
Committee said, and has been excluded from the competition.
Queen Elizabeth II made an
appearance at the Aquatics Center on Saturday to watch the action, having
officially declared the Games open the previous night during director Danny Boyle's raucous, pop culture-themed opening ceremony.
Widely hailed in U.K. media
Saturday as showcasing in an inventive, and sometimes eccentric, way what is
best about Britain, the show included a short film featuring Daniel Craig, the
latest actor to play cinematic British spy James Bond, and none other than the
queen herself. It also paid tribute to Britain's National Health Service and
children's literature, as well as its history.
Follow along on the live blog
The hosts will get to cheer for
their own when Hannah Miley competes in the women's 400-meter individual medley.
Miley, who has been called one of Britain's best swimmers, could be challenged
by American Elizabeth Beisel and Hungarian Katinka Hosszu.
Team USA's Dana Vollmer set a
new Games best of 56.25 seconds in the qualifying heats of the women's 100-meter
butterfly.
As the first rounds of the
Olympic tennis tournament began, Swiss star Roger Federer returned to the All
England Tennis Club where he won the Wimbledon men's singles title only three
weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Britain's hopes in
Saturday's 250-kilometer cycling road race, in which newly crowned Tour de
France champion Bradley Wiggins sought to aid fellow Briton Mark Cavendish to a
medal, were dashed as Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov put in a gutsy sprint to
take the gold.
Thousands of spectators had
lined the route through the streets of London and along leafy roads in
neighboring Surrey to catch a glimpse of the riders racing by. Organizers also
predict big crowds on Sunday for the women's cycling road race, as tickets
aren't needed to watch the action.
London 2012 results and schedule
Olympic fans, many dressed up in
their national colors, have also packed outdoor viewing areas in Hyde Park and
elsewhere to watch the day's events unfold on a big screen.
The government said in a
statement Saturday that plans for the management of crowds, security and
transport appeared to be going well so far, including the exit of large crowds
from the Olympic Stadium following the late-night opening ceremony.
Concerns had been raised ahead
of the Games about the capacity of London's already busy transport network to
deal with the hordes of visitors heading to the Olympic Park and other
venues.
Security also became an issue
ahead of the Games when the private contractor G4S revealed it could not provide
as many security guards as required. The British military has stepped in to fill
the gap.
London's Metropolitan Police
said more than 130 people were arrested Friday night as they took part in a mass
cycle protest. They are suspected of breaching conditions imposed on the protest
to prevent any disruption to Olympic events, police said.
"People have a right to protest,
it is an incredibly important part of our democracy," a police statement
said.
"What people do not have the
right to do is to hold a protest that stops other people from exercising their
own rights to go about their business -- that means athletes who have trained
for years for their chance in a lifetime to compete, millions of ticket holders
from seeing the world's greatest sporting event, and everyone else in London who
wants to get around."
With more than a dozen venues in
London and 10 outside the capital, including football stadiums, ensuring access
and security for the many Olympic visitors is no mean feat.
Rowing, another sport in which
Britain hopes to excel, got under way Saturday morning on the lake in Eton
Dorney, to the west of London.
Opening ceremony reaction: Pomp, patriotism and political
gaffes
Beijing bronze medal winner
Russia squared off against Canada on Saturday as women's basketball started,
while later in the day, Team USA competes against Croatia.
All teams may be trying to keep
the U.S. women from winning their fourth straight gold medal. Team USA has
played Australia for gold in each of the past three Olympics. Australia, led by
6-foot-5 Lauren Jackson, starts play late Saturday against Team GB.
Women's football also came to
the fore Saturday as the men take a break, with Team GB defeating Cameroon to
secure a quarter-final place.
Some 25,000 fans showed up to
Wednesday's match against New Zealand, the biggest attendance for a women's
international match in Britain.
Current FIFA Women's World Cup
holder Japan kicked off against Sweden on Saturday, a game that ended in a
goalless draw.
Weightlifting, dressage and
volleyball are among the other sports getting under way.
Money, medals and more: The Olympics by the numbers
