Ledecky, who has amassed some 20 world and Olympic titles during her dazzling career, made an impressive first-up appearance at this meet, winning her heat in 4.00.45, some four seconds outside her 3.56.46 world record. The question was whether Titmus would rise to the challenge in the next heat or continue to keep her cards close to her chest.

Not surprisingly, she realises that only one swim will count here, and that is the final on Monday morning. The 20-year-old swam well within herself to come home in 4.01.66. As it happened, that was only third fastest, with Le Bingjie separating history’s two fastest 400m freestylers with a 4.01.57, which was a Chinese and Asian Record.

It means that Titmus will swim in lane 3 in the final, which means she will not breathe towards Ledecky over the final stages. But as expert commentator and twice Olympic 400m freestyle champion Ian Thorpe put it, that won’t be a problem if she is in front.

The two champions have not raced since their epic duel at the world titles in Gwangju in 2019 but Titmus almost seemed more intent with getting herself back in the swing of organising herself for a meet.

“The biggest thing for me was the marshalling area,” Titmus explained. “It’s been a long time because of Covid.”

Titmus, indeed, could not quite pull away from New Zealander Erika Fairweather, the 17-year-old Kiwi continuing the rise of the teenagers here at this meet. She lopped four seconds off her best time in finishing just behind the Australian in 4.02.28.

Chalmers scorches relay leg hit out

While Titmus was giving nothing away, Australia’s reigning 100m freestyle Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers just can’t help himself. Making an unexpected appearance in the heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay, Chalmers found himself well adrift of the American Zac Apple in the final leg of the race but rather than accepting that he would be beaten, instead unleashed one of the fastest relay splits of all time, 46.63sec, to almost overhaul him.

“My coach won’t be too happy with that because it was probably faster than I should have swum but I just couldn’t help myself,” he said. “After seeing the girls (the women’s 4x100m freestyle team win gold for Australia in world record time) in action this morning, I just needed a hit-out.”

The Australian quartet of Cameron McEvoy, Zac Incerti, Alexander Graham and Chalmers clocked 3.11.89, just 0.56sec adrift of the Americans who regard this relay as their own private domain. Indeed, until the Australian smashed some air guitars in Sydney in 2000, they had never lost it. Australia will swim from lane 3 in the final with Italy in lane 4 having won heat 1 in the fastest qualifying time of 3:10.29.

McKeown breaks Olympic record and Seebohm in form

The astonishing rivalry that has gripped the women’s 100m backstroke event was very much in evidence on Day 2 of the Tokyo Games as rivals Kylie Masse of Canada, American Regan Smith and Australia’s own Kaylee McKeown all went out to make a statement in the heats.

Masse was the first to throw down the challenge, breaking Australian Emily Seebohm’s Olympic record in the first seeded heat with a 58.17sec. Smith quickly answered that, setting a new Olympic record in the very next heat, dipping under the 58sec mark with a 57.96sec swim. But not to be outdone, McKeown answered them all with a dazzling 57.88sec swim in the final heat, missing her own world record by just 0.43sec.

All three swimmers at one point have held the world record and clearly this will be one of the most volatile events of the Games. It also begs the question of what they might do in the semi-finals if the heats inspired them to this degree.

At her fourth Olympics Emily Seebohm, 29, swam 58.86 to be fifth quickest into Monday's semi-finals.

Neil through to 200m freestyle semis

Travis Neill was never supposed to be swimming the individual 200m freestyle event. He had qualified for the team only as a 4x200m freestyle relay swimmer, although, with Australia only fielding one swimmer in the 1500m freestyle, it was decided to give him a swim in that race as well. But when Kyle Chalmers decided not to contest the 200m event which he has won at trials, an individual swim suddenly opened up for him in that event as well.

It was an eye-opener when the 19-year-old Rackley club swimmer won the final seeded heat, just missing his best time as he posted a 1.45.81. Neill’s time is the eight fastest going through to the semis but with Sun Yang of China not permitted to swim here, it clearly is anyone’s race.

Korean teenager Sunwoo Hwang led the field with a 1.44.62, while all the usual suspects, Fernando Scheffer of Brazil and British pair Tom Dean and Duncan Scott were queuing up behind him. But the swimmer causing everyone to feel uneasy is 17-year-old lanky Romanian David Popovici who, not satisfied with terrorising the 100m freestyle field with red-hot times, is now turning his attention to the 200m. So new is he to the event that he did not even qualify for a seeded heat but, against no-name swimmers, still unleashed a highly-respectable 1.45.32 performance to qualify fourth.

Sadly, it has not been Elijah Winnington’s day. He led early in the 400m freestyle final on Sunday morning, and was ranked no.1. coming into the meet, but he couldn’t go with the pace in the final laps and placed seventh. In the 200m freestyle heats he swam 1:46.99 which didn’t qualify him for the semi-finals.

Larkin and Cooper through to 100m backstroke semis

There was better news for Australia in the men's 100m backstroke with former world champion Mitch Larkin advancing to the semis with a controlled 52.97sec, which made him fourth fastest from the heats and one of only five swimmers under the 53sec barrier. Happily, the youngest man in the Dolphins side, 17-year-old Isaac Cooper also progressed to the semi-final stage, posting an impressive 53.73sec, just outside his career-best.

Larkin wasn’t sure what it would take to win this event, having noted that the times in the first session of finals this morning were markedly slower than the preceding heat times. “We all talk about the Olympic motto being ‘faster, higher, stronger’ (citius, altius, fortius) but we’ve been joking that it really should be ‘faster, higher, stranger’,” Larkin said.

Emma McKeon will be the first Aussie on the blocks in the finals on Monday morning from 11.30am (AEST). She is the third fastest qualifier and looking for an individual medal to go with her relay gold.

Wayne Smith

#HaveAGo at Swimming