Let’s start at the finish. On the penultimate day of the Olympic swim meet, Australia continued their strong campaign with a silver medal to Ariarne Titmus, bronze to Kaylee McKeown and another bronze for the mixed medley relay. But that read-out masks a dramatic evening at the pool, with Australians at the heart of some thrilling action. And no race was more thrilling than that between Titmus and American swim queen Katie Ledecky.
In recent years, the rivalry has been one of the defining storylines of international swimming. The battle had it all: two nations with a longstanding duel in the pool, a dramatic origin story, and multiple stages of battle: the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle
