Round one to Ariarne Titmus but duel in the pool with Katie Ledecky continues | Kieran Pender

The Australian drew first blood but there is plenty more water to be covered in the box office Olympic series with her US rival

After losing to Australia's Ariarne Titmus in the women's 400m freestyle, American Katie Ledecky departed the press conference tent at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre with a message: See you in a few hours." The five-time Olympic gold medallist was speaking to the gathered media, but she might as well have been talking to Titmus. This isn't over yet.

The Ledecky v Titmus rivalry will define the Olympic swim meet. Only rivalry" is not quite the right word. Over the past two years, ever since Titmus beat Ledecky at the 2019 world championships and the American failed to shake her opponent's hand, the duel between them has been given much oxygen. In the pool, it is certainly box office - one of the best swimmers in history, the reigning queen of the pool, and a young prodigy eager to take the crown.