Australia’s Ariarne Titmus won a thrilling 400m freestyle duel with American great Katie Ledecky in the Olympic pool on Monday as Caeleb Dressel launched his bid for a seven-gold spree in style.
The Tokyo Aquatics Centre also witnessed another dominant 100m breaststroke swim by world-record holder Adam Peaty, who defended his title to give Britain its first gold medal of the Games.
Absorbing encounter
Ledecky came to Japan on the back of four gold medals and a silver at Rio in 2016, but Titmus has been snapping at her heels, ousting her as World champion in 2019 and topping the timesheets this season.
Titmus inched clear over the final 50m to touch in 3min 56.69sec after an absorbing encounter.
Only world record-holder Ledecky has ever gone quicker.
The United States team spearheaded by Dressel stormed to the men’s 4x100m relay gold medal in the third-quickest time ever.
Zach Apple brought them home after Dressel led off, with sizzling legs from Blake Pieroni and Bowen Becker ensuring they touched in 3:08.97s, ahead of Italy and Australia.
It could be the start of a seven-title spree for Dressel, 24, whose 13 world titles have prompted inevitable comparisons with Michael Phelps — winner of eight golds in 2008 and 23 in total.
The unstoppable Peaty extended his dominance of the 100m breaststroke event, powering to the line in 57.37s ahead of Dutchman Arno Kamminga while Canada’s Maggie MacNeil dethroned Sarah Sjostrom to win the women’s 100m butterfly.
Britain's Tom Daley paid tribute to his late father after he and Matty Lee edged hot favourites China to the gold in synchronised 10m platform diving.
Finally, a gold!
Daley, 27, who revealed that he might have missed the Games after knee surgery, wiped away tears on the podium as he finally added gold to the bronzes he won at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
The Britons held their nerve on the last dive to win the final with 471.81 points, with the Chinese Chen Aisen and Cao Yuan second on 470.58 and Russians Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev a distant third.
Daley’s thoughts turned to his father, Rob who died of cancer in 2011, aged 40.
