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Ryan Lochte captured America's first gold medal of the 2012 Olympic games, soundly defeating rival U.S. swimming icon Michael Phelps on Saturday in the highly anticipated men's 400-meter individual medley -- a race that combines four different strokes.

Brazil's Thiago Pereira secured the silver medal, while Phelps did not medal, coming in fourth place. Japan's Kosuke Hagina won bronze.

"I put the work in," Lochte said after the race. "I'm just going out there and having fun, and doing what I do best."

Both men had made it through qualifying heats to the final -- Phelps only by a whisker.

His slightly below-par performance put the former champion in lane 8 rather than in the preferred middle lanes, where there's less chance of disruption from other swimmers' waves.

Lochte was in lane 3.

The 27-year-old Phelps, who already has 14 gold medals from previous Games, had been looking to add to his pot of Olympic gold, but the Games' attention quickly shifted to Lochte's dominating Saturday performance.

"I know it's my time and I'm ready," said Lochte.

History was made soon after, with China's Sun Yang earning an Olympic gold medal in the men's swimming 400-meter freestyle event -- the first Chinese man ever to do so in Olympic swimming. And China's Ye Shiwen made history of her own by breaking the world record in the women's swimming 400-meter individual medley. American Elizabeth Beisel took the silver medal in the medley.

China also claimed the first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games on Saturday, with a victory for 23-year-old Siling Yi in the women's 10-meter air rifle shooting.

"I'm very excited and happy," she said, quoted by the official Games website. The world's No. 1, who started shooting at age 13, said there had been "a lot of pressure" on her to perform.

The first American medal of the day was a silver, after the nation's men's archery team fell to Italy in a riveting gold medal match that wasn't determined until the final arrow.

The U.S. women's football team also ousted Colombia 3-0 on Saturday, securing a quarter-final spot.

But the Games weren't without controversy.

Earlier, Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be sanctioned for failing an anti-doping test at the London Games.

Pulaku, 20, tested positive Monday for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol, the International Olympic Committee said, and has been excluded from the competition.

Queen Elizabeth II made an appearance at the Aquatics Center on Saturday to watch the action, having officially declared the Games open the previous night during director Danny Boyle's raucous, pop culture-themed opening ceremony.

Widely hailed in U.K. media Saturday as showcasing in an inventive, and sometimes eccentric, way what is best about Britain, the show included a short film featuring Daniel Craig, the latest actor to play cinematic British spy James Bond, and none other than the queen herself. It also paid tribute to Britain's National Health Service and children's literature, as well as its history.

The hosts will get to cheer for their own when Hannah Miley competes in the women's 400-meter individual medley. Miley, who has been called one of Britain's best swimmers, could be challenged by American Elizabeth Beisel and Hungarian Katinka Hosszu.

Team USA's Dana Vollmer set a new Games best of 56.25 seconds in the qualifying heats of the women's 100-meter butterfly.

As the first rounds of the Olympic tennis tournament began, Swiss star Roger Federer returned to the All England Tennis Club where he won the Wimbledon men's singles title only three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Britain's hopes in Saturday's 250-kilometer cycling road race, in which newly crowned Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins sought to aid fellow Briton Mark Cavendish to a medal, were dashed as Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov put in a gutsy sprint to take the gold.

Thousands of spectators had lined the route through the streets of London and along leafy roads in neighboring Surrey to catch a glimpse of the riders racing by. Organizers also predict big crowds on Sunday for the women's cycling road race, as tickets aren't needed to watch the action.

Olympic fans, many dressed up in their national colors, have also packed outdoor viewing areas in Hyde Park and elsewhere to watch the day's events unfold on a big screen.

The government said in a statement Saturday that plans for the management of crowds, security and transport appeared to be going well so far, including the exit of large crowds from the Olympic Stadium following the late-night opening ceremony.

Concerns had been raised ahead of the Games about the capacity of London's already busy transport network to deal with the hordes of visitors heading to the Olympic Park and other venues.

Security also became an issue ahead of the Games when the private contractor G4S revealed it could not provide as many security guards as required. The British military has stepped in to fill the gap.

London's Metropolitan Police said more than 130 people were arrested Friday night as they took part in a mass cycle protest. They are suspected of breaching conditions imposed on the protest to prevent any disruption to Olympic events, police said.

"People have a right to protest, it is an incredibly important part of our democracy," a police statement said.

"What people do not have the right to do is to hold a protest that stops other people from exercising their own rights to go about their business -- that means athletes who have trained for years for their chance in a lifetime to compete, millions of ticket holders from seeing the world's greatest sporting event, and everyone else in London who wants to get around."

With more than a dozen venues in London and 10 outside the capital, including football stadiums, ensuring access and security for the many Olympic visitors is no mean feat.

Rowing, another sport in which Britain hopes to excel, got under way Saturday morning on the lake in Eton Dorney, to the west of London.

Beijing bronze medal winner Russia squared off against Canada on Saturday as women's basketball started, while later in the day, Team USA competes against Croatia.

All teams may be trying to keep the U.S. women from winning their fourth straight gold medal. Team USA has played Australia for gold in each of the past three Olympics. Australia, led by 6-foot-5 Lauren Jackson, starts play late Saturday against Team GB.

Women's football also came to the fore Saturday as the men take a break, with Team GB defeating Cameroon to secure a quarter-final place.

Some 25,000 fans showed up to Wednesday's match against New Zealand, the biggest attendance for a women's international match in Britain.

Current FIFA Women's World Cup holder Japan kicked off against Sweden on Saturday, a game that ended in a goalless draw.

Weightlifting, dressage and volleyball are among the other sports getting under way.