The England capital is set to turn out a sporting spectacular this year and, well, everything else will pretty much be gravy in 2012, Tym Glaser writes.

All roads lead to London in 2012. The capital of the British empire, or remnants thereof, will for the third time host the Olympic Games this year. Yes, there will be the European Championship of soccer in Poland and the Ukraine, and there will also be the ubiquitous golf and tennis majors to keep us entertained throughout the year, but the Year of the Dragon is also Olympian, and all sporting eyes will be focused on London from July 27 to Aug 12.

The English are expecting to have a jolly good time at their home Games and should put on a mighty good show, but expect the United States, China and Russia to be at the top of the medal table when the dust settles.

The latter two countries will be strongest in their niche sports, while the team in red, white and blue will look to dominate the blue riband events in the pool and on the track.

The most compelling clashes of the first week will involve American super fish Michael Phelps, who boasts a record 14 Olympic gold medals, and his heir apparent, Ryan Lochte. They are likely to cross wakes in the medley events and freestyle races, and then become really good friends again on the US relay teams.

In the second week, the Americans will be at the forefront again, but this time their nemesis will be from the sprint factory known as Jamaica.

Usain Bolt, the fastest man the world has ever seen, who has clocked 9.58 for the 100m and 19.19 for the 200, will be at the vanguard of the green-and-gold sprint charge along with compatriots Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake. If fit, Tyson Gay, the second fastest man on the planet (9.69 for the 100) could be the fellow to break up any Jamaican trifecta is the short sprint.

The women's side should see some compelling clashes as well, with America's Carmelita Jeter - a late bloomer - and Allyson Felix likely to go stride for stride with Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Kerron Stewart.

If the London track is halfway fast, expect world marks to tumble, particularly in the 4x100 relays.

In the shadow of the Olympics will be Euro 2012 from June 8 to July 1, which England will win (only joking).

Spain is the defending champion but a youthful German side, ever-present Italy and soccer's perennial bridesmaids, the Dutch, have legitimate hopes for the second most important soccer title in the world.

On the golf course, Tiger Woods will be looking to inch closer to Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors after two years in the wilderness or at least in the long grass and trees.

However, prodigiously talented Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and England's world No 1, Luke Donald, may have something to say about that.

On the tennis courts, the four-headed beast known as Djokovic-Nadal-Federer-Murray looks likely to dominate the scene again. Novak Djokovic would love to cap a career slam with a win in Paris, while Andy Murray would just go all wishy-washy to win a Slam title.

On the women's side, grand dames Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams will be looking to restore their authority over 2011's upstart first-time Grand Slam winner: Li Na, Petra Kvitkova and Samantha Stosur.

However, unlike the men, the women's competition looks far more competitive nowadays.

Of course, the US will provide us with many thrills and spills as well with its abbreviated NBA season (which the Miami Heat should win), NHL (Da Bruins), MLB (Red Sox?) and, of course, Super Bowl (New Orleans!).

The men in lycra will ride past many chateaux in France in a top-heavy sporting middle of the year, while the men who like to ride in very fast cars will travel all over the globe, with young German Sebastian Vettel most likely leading the pack.

Still, all that's likely to be window dressing to the year's main show in London and the greatest show on earth.

Note:

Britain is going to set up an intelligence unit to identify illegal betting practices and tackle attempts to fix events at the London Olympics this summer.

The special unit will be headed by the Metropolitan Police and work with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Interpol to track suspicious gambling activity abroad.

A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said the unit "will be able to obtain and draw on information and intelligence from various sources including the Betting Commission, national Olympic commissions and Interpol on any suspicious betting patterns or intelligence surrounding match-fixing."

Meanwhile, athletes were reported to have been approached by bookmakers to influence the outcome of their competitions. British Olympics minister Hugh Robertson was quoted as saying that event fixing poses a bigger threat to the London Games' reputation than doping.

Xinhua