As usual, Karen Crouse of the New York Times gets the story

http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/lochte-caught-in-wake-of-schedule-and-expectations/?smid=tw-share

When trying to assess Lochte’s struggles here, the schedule is a good place to start. The world championships proved to Lochte that he could contend with the best swimmers in the world when the events were aligned right, which they were not here.