With the conclusion of the swimming events at the 2012 London Olympic Games drawing ever closer, we thought we'd close out week one of the Games with the top 10 tweets from poolside. The only qualifying criteria: Good tweets. Enjoy.

1 – Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps)

Michael Phelps, over the span of 12 years, has proven that he may well in fact be half man and half fish. No other athlete has dominated their chosen Olympic sport quite like the Baltimore Bullet. So dominant has he been, that even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, contacted Phelps whilst he has been competing in London. Does it get any better than that?

 

2 – Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps)

I know he was number one on this list, but he is also fully deserving of the number two spot as well, if we are just taking the qualifying criteria into account. The only man with 20 Olympic medals tweeting medals number 19 and 20 to his more than 864,000 followers is one of the tweets of the Games for mine.

 

3 – Matt Grevers (@MattGrevers)

Olympic swimmer Matt Grevers, the 100m backstroke Gold medalist, was rooming with the man who knocked off The Missile in the 100m freestyle, Nathan Adrian. So how did Grevers congratulate his roommate for winning gold? By making his bed, of course.

 

4 – Melanie Schlanger (@Mel_Schlanger)

As it currently stands, the 4x100m freestyle women's relay team are Australia's only gold medalists so far in London. This tweet, from relay member Melanie Schlanger, of the golden girls with their medals on a postage stamp, is well worth a spot on this list. Well done, girls.

 

5 – Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)

The man who has had a great rivalry with countryman Michael Phelps, a rivalry they can put aside to cheer on the USA at the Olympics, Ryan Lochte has had quite the journey to the Games. Check out the link in his tweet to watch a pretty cool video of his last four years.

 

6 – Nathan Adrian (@Nathangadrian)

The man who knocked off Aussie favourite James “The Missile” Magnussen, Nathan Adrian, couldn't be ignored on this list. Pretty cool tweet from the newly-crowned 100m freestyle champion, thanking his family, coaches and fans, as well as issuing a spoiler alert for those waiting to watch the race on NBC's now-infamous delayed Olympics telecast.

 

7 – Stephanie Rice (@ItsStephRice)

The 2012 Games weren't great for Aussie swimmer Stephanie Rice, especially after her triumphs in Beijing. She was, however, a very gracious sport in her defeat, and grateful for all the support she's received. Well done, Steph.

 

8 – Eamon Sullivan (@Eamon_Sullivan)

Eamon Sullivan was one quarter of the Australian Men's 4x100m freestyle relay team that didn't quite live up to expectations, finishing 4th in the final. With all the overreaction from journalists, including a silly piece labelling the race, “Australia's swimmings darkest day”, Eamon called for support rather than vitriol. Classy move by Eamon, getting his opinion out without causing controversy. Definitely a skill more athletes would like to employ when using social media.

 

9 – Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)

One of the best attributes of social media is the ability it gives athletes to each out to fans and thank them personally, as Lochte did here. Classy guy, Ryan.

 

10 – L2012 Pool Camera (@L2012PoolCam)

The London 2012 Pool Camera, which was discussed earlier in the week, has some really great shots, but this one, a 360-degree view of Phelps, has been the best from poolside.

 
So there you have it, folks! The top 10 poolside tweets from London 2012. Have you seen any other great tweets from Olympic swimmers? Let us know!