Shooting: Old dogs and new gains

● Women's 25-meter sport pistol

Competition time: Aug 1

Contestants: Chen Ying

Gold prospect: At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Chen won gold in the women's 25m pistol. She will be making her third Olympic appearance at the London Games.

● Men's 10-meter air rifle

Competition time: July 30

Contestant: Zhu Qinan

Gold prospect: Zhu is the clear favorite in the men's 10-meter air rifle.

Swimming: to swim to a new record

● Women's 200-meter medley event

Competition time: July 30 to July 31

Contestant: Ye Shiwen

Gold prospect: Ye Shiwen, the unexpected winner at the 2011 Shanghai World Championships, made a name for herself in setting new world figures in the individual medley. She is the clear favorite for the event in London.

● Women's 100-meter backstroke

Competition time: July 29 to July 30

Contestant: Zhao Jing

Gold prospect: At the 2011 Shanghai World Championships, Zhao took gold in the 100-meter backstroke by just 0.01 seconds, but disappointed in her other events. She will face an uphill task in London.

● Women's 200-meter butterfly

Competition time: July 31 to Aug 1

Contestants: Jiao Liuyang & Liu Zige

Gold prospect: At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liu and Jiao respectively won the 200 butterfly gold and silver. Their excellent recent form suggests that they will be among the medals once again in London.

● Men's 1500-meter freestyle

Competition time: Aug 3 to Aug 4

Contestant: Sun Yang

Gold prospect: Sun's personal best, as well as being almost five seconds faster than his nearest opponent, is also the world record. The main question on most people's lips is not will Sun win, but will he break his own world record?