Athletes such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky. A haul of 520 medals, 230 of them gold. When it comes to Olympic swimming, it is hard to look past the United States. The US Olympic swimming trials will take place in just under six weeks and no one can afford to take their place at the Games in August for granted.

The USA topped the medal table at the London 2012 Games with 104, of which 31 came from the pool. And more than half of these were earned by four forces of nature: Phelps with six, Lochte and Franklin with five each, and Ledecky with one.

Lochte (left) and Phelps (right) on the 200m medley podum in London (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Rose)

The US Olympic swimming trials, which will run from 26 June to 3 July in Omaha, will be fiercely contested by over 2,000 athletes seeking a place in Rio. The nation watches on: of the eight nights of action, tickets are already sold out for seven. In an interview with Rio2016.com, Franklin even said that once an American swimmer manages to qualify through the US trials, the Olympic Games themelves can seem like a "piece of cake".

Even with 22 Olympic medals (18 gold) to his name, Phelps is among the many that must train hard to ensure he is on the plane. Lochte is the man who has long been tipped to take Phelps's mantle as the figurehead of the US team. In a video shared by @USASwimming on Twitter, the athlete, who has amassed 11 medals in just three editions of the Games, says he is fully focused on earning his place in Rio. “It is time to clean up some things and get ready for trials,” he said.

Amongst the women, Franklin is the big name on the team. After surprising the world in London with four golds, a bronze and two world records at just 17 years old, ‘Missy the Missile’ now has the pressure of responding to big expectations. “You work for four years for these eight days (of the US trials) and you have just one chance. The pressure is unbelievable,” she said.

And Franklin has competition when it comes to being the leading lady in the US swimming team, in the form of Ledecky. The 19-year-old is preparing to defend the 800m freestyle gold medal she won in London at just 15.

The Rio 2016 swimming competition will take place at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Barra Olympic Park on 6-13 August. The purpose-built arena has two pools, one for competition and one for warming-up, and will seat over 15,000 spectators. The temporary structure also features a reproduction of acclaimed Rio artist Adriana Varejão’s work Calecanto Provoca Maremoto, which decorates the arena’s exterior.

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The Olympic Aquatics Stadium is wrapped in the work of Adriana Varejão (Photo: Rio 2016/Andre Motta)