LONDON (AP) — By the time Usain Bolt's showboating, record-breaking, gold-gobbling act on the track got revved up at the Beijing Games four years ago, Michael Phelps already was firmly established as The Star — capital T, capital S — of those Olympics.

Nothing anyone did — even Bolt's unprecedented sweep of the 100, 200 and 4x100-meter relay with best-in-history times — could possibly steal the spotlight from Phelps and his eight-gold performance in the pool.

Now it's a different story.

The first week of the London Olympics left a noticeable vacancy on center stage. As if on cue, up steps Bolt, the effervescent Jamaican sprinter who comes in with the most to win, and lose, as the 10-day athletics meet begins Friday at 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.