Over the years the list of storylines have been long, and this year is no different.

The expected storylines have been drawn out a multitude of times in a multitude of ways.

Sport, like real life, will play itself out over the eight days of competition.  In all likelihood, many of these storylines will play out as a fairy tale, but conversely there is bound to be disappointment.

Each of these storylines has assisted in the public's ability to understand swimming and its athletes leading up to the next eight days.

Can and will Michael Phelps win eight gold medals?  How about that 41 year old, Dara Torres, coming back from her second seven year retirement? Will Eric Shanteau - a role model for millions battling cancer - have his performance impacted by the diagnosis? Can Brendan Hansen do away with the individual event heartbreak from 2004? Can Ryan Lochte disrupt Phelps' run at eight?  Can Katie Hoff, the first woman since Shane Gould to race five individual events, win them all or can Australia's Stephanie Rice take down Hoff in the IM events? How many Olympic records will fall due to the upgrades in swimsuit technology?

The fact remains that regardless of what storyline you are following, only one really matters now.

With less than 24 hours until the start of the first race here in Beijing and about 36 hours until swimming's first medal is awarded, all the pre-games hype - all the talk and prognostication - can finally come to a close.

At that point we will get our first glimpse of what we can expect to play out over the next eight days.

For the journalists covering the sport, this is an exciting prospect.

By the time swimming is complete, a minimum of 96 medals will have been awarded.

Competition will bring new headlines and new expectations.

But most importantly, competition will bring the unexpected.

And with the unexpected will come a new set of storylines - likely the best of all.