Tatjana Schoenmaker smashed the world record to win gold in the women's 200m breaststroke, while Emma McKeon and Evgeny Rylov were top of the podium in Friday's action in the pool.

There was also glory for Wang Shun in a closely fought men's 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Here's a round-up of the best action from another action-packed session at Tokyo 2020.

SIZZLING SCHOENMAKER TAKES OUT WR

Schoenmaker lived up to her billing as the favourite in the women's 200m breaststroke, winning South Africa's first gold medal of the Games in sensational style.

The 24-year-old, who took silver in the 100m, shattered the world record in a time of 2:18.95 with Lilly King of the United States in second.

After touching the wall, Schoenmaker screamed in delight at seeing her time before sobbing in the pool as the emotion of her achievement hit home.

OLYMPIC BESTS FROM MCKEON AND RYLOV

McKeon won Australia's ninth gold medal of the Games and sixth of a memorable week in the pool for the nation by dominating the women's 100m freestyle.

The 27-year-old led from start to finish and stormed home in a time of 51.96, a new Olympic benchmark. Team-mate Cate Campbell was third behind Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong.

"Honestly, my emotions are a bit all over the place right now," McKeon told Channel 7. "I know all of my family back home are watching and I felt them with me in my race. 

"I know all the support they've given me over all the years of me swimming. They're part of it all."

Another Olympic record was broken in a men's 200m backstroke event won by Rylov, who doubled up with the gold he won in the 100m race for the Russian Olympic Committee.

Having won that shorter race, Rylov was fancied as somewhat of a shoo-in over his favoured four-lap distance and so it proved as he set a time of 1:53.27.

SCOTT PIPPED AGAIN AS WANG HOLDS FIRM

Duncan Scott brought home gold as part of TeamGB's 4x200m freestyle relay team – but he was just edged in the 200m individual free by team-mate Tom Dean and was beaten in the 200m individual medley by a narrow margin too.

This time it was China's Wang Shun who came out on top, the Rio 2016 bronze medallist produced a fine performance to win in a time of 1:55.00, just 0.28 seconds faster than Scott.

China returned to the top of the medal table thanks to swimming and table tennis success at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.

Host nation Japan slipped into second place on another successful day for China, who have racked up 31 medals in total so far at these Games.

Zhang Yufei won the women's 200m butterfly title ahead of American duo Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

The women's 4x200m freestyle relay team also struck gold for China in the pool.

There was table tennis glory for China too, with Chen Meng beating compatriot Sun Yingsha 4-2 in the final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

China and Japan both have 15 golds so far, the host nation sitting second as they have 25 medals in total.

The United States have the most medals with a haul of 38, as well as sitting just one adrift of China and Japan's tally of golds.

The Russian Olympic Committee and Australia both have eight apiece, the latter benefiting from success for Jessica Fox in the women's C-1 canoe slalom, plus Izaac Stubblety-Cook winning the 200m breaststroke title.

Friday sees the start of the Olympic athletics schedule and the first tennis medals will be won in Tokyo.

The men's 10,000 metres final will be staged on the first day of track and field action at the Olympic Stadium.

There will be an all-Croatia men's doubles gold medal match at the Ariake Tennis Park, plus no doubt more drama to come in the pool.

Stats Perform picks out some of the standout events to look forward to.

CHEPTEGEI FAVOURITE FOR FIRST TRACK GOLD

Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo both have the chance to become the first athlete from Uganda to win an Olympic gold medal in the men's 10,000m final.

Cheptegei, the 2019 world champion, is well fancied in the last event on the track on Friday, while his compatriot Kiplimo could become the youngest man to be crowned champion at the distance at the age of 20 years and 258 days.

Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Canadian Mohammed Ahmed also have high hopes of making it onto the podium. 

Other events to look out for are the start of the women's 100m, men's 400m hurdles and men's high jump, along with the women's 800m and women's triple jump.

CROATIA GUARANTEED DOUBLES GOLD

One guarantee on Friday is that Croatia will add a gold and silver medal to their tally at the Tokyo Games.

Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig will face compatriots Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the gold medal match in the men's doubles final.

The men's singles semi-finals will also take place, with Novak Djokovic, chasing a Golden Slam this year, up against Germany's Alexander Zverev.

Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee will do battle with Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta to find out who will make it through from the other half of the draw.

HIGH HOPES FOR AUSTRALIAN DUO

Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell could make it an Australia one-two in the women's 100m freestyle final.

McKeon set a new Olympic record of 52.13 seconds on Wednesday and will go out in lane four next to her dangerous compatriot Campbell.

That is one of four finals on Friday, with Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa expected to take some stopping in the 200m breaststroke final after clocking an Olympic record time of 2:19.16 this week.

Medals will also be up for grabs in the men's 200m backstroke final and the men's 200m individual medley.

Caeleb Dressel makes no apologies for being "a little bit of a weirdo", with the American swimming sensation determined to tackle his Olympic mountain on his own terms.

A first individual gold for Dressel arrived on Thursday when he edged out Australian rival Kyle Chalmers in a rollicking final of the 100 metres freestyle.

After the race, Dressel was left tearful when he was connected to family at home on a video link provided by a US broadcaster, with his parents and wife Meghan back in Florida celebrating the victory.

Dressel believes he has to cut down such contact to a minimum in Games time. He is a four-time gold medallist now, after two relay triumphs in Rio five years ago and another in Tokyo preceded his solo swim to glory.

For the 24-year-old, what matters most at these times is finding and maintaining race focus.

"I don't talk to many people at these meets. I'm kind of a loner, a little bit of a weirdo," Dressel said.

And that's why Meghan has to get by without a guaranteed daily call home from Japan.

"You have to manage your emotions. I can't be calling them every night because I cry a lot," Dressel said. "I'm an emotional person. I can't be calling them and exerting that energy. It's got to be put into my swimming."

It seems to be so far, so good on that front, with an Olympic record of 47.02 seconds bagged on Thursday and the prospect of more medals to come.

Dressel was widely expected to be a major star of Tokyo 2020 and is handling the stress of that situation, albeit if beneath the surface there is a constant battle to direct his energy.

"I'm pretty good at putting a face on," Dressel said. "Pressure's fine; it's when you turn it into stress, that's when it becomes a problem.

"My first couple of swims, I was turning the pressure into stress. I feel like the semi-final of the 100m free and that final there, I was starting to find my groove a little bit, and it's about time to be honest.

"I know my name's thrown out there and i understand it. I could care less about it, it's just something that comes with the sport when you're on top of the podium."

Dressel has gone silent on Instagram, deliberately staying away from social media, again saying that is "energy I don't need to be exerting".

And he was thrilled by how he swam against Chalmers, saying he "wouldn't have changed a thing about that race", even though it was practically a photo finish.

Chalmers, sharing a news conference podium with Dressel, said: "There's nothing I could have done more.

"It's been talked up as more than a swimming race for a while now. Caeleb and I have a fairly fierce rivalry.

"We do enjoy racing against each other and bring the best out in each other, so it's almost a relief to get it done now."

Everyone expected Caeleb Dressel to be one of the swimming stars of the Tokyo Games, and the American lived up to the hype on Thursday. 

Dressel started strongly and held off rival Kyle Chalmers of Australia at the end to win the 100m freestyle, the 24-year-old's first individual Olympic gold after taking two relay wins in Rio and one earlier this week.

The Floridian swam the 100m free three times in Rio and his time got worse from the preliminaries to the semi-finals to the final, ultimately leaving him sixth overall at 48.02 while Chalmers won gold with a 47.58.

This time, Dressel was at his best when it mattered most, posting a 47.02 to break an Olympic record that had stood since Beijing 2008.

Afterward, he described winning his first individual gold as a weight off his shoulders.

"It is different," Dressel said. "I didn't want to admit it but now that I did it, I can.

"It's a lot different – you can't rely on anyone else. It's just you and the water, there's no one there to bail you out. It's tough."

Winning the gold in a head-to-head showdown with the reigning champion made victory even sweeter.

"It's so fun going with Kyle – I mean, every time we make it good," Dressel said. "It's really fun to watch when we go head-to-head.

"I've got nothing but respect for him."

CROATIA'S ROWING BROTHERS GOLDEN AGAIN

Brothers Valent and Martin Sinkovic have teamed up to win a rowing medal for the third consecutive Olympics. 

The Croatians took gold in the men's coxless pair event at Sea Forest Waterway, leading throughout the race and winning by 1.29 seconds over Romania's Marius Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosa.

The Sinkovic siblings won gold in the double sculls five years ago in Rio after making up half of Croatia's quadruple sculls team that took the silver medal in London in 2012.

They are the first rowers to win gold in both the pair and double sculls since Canada's Kathleen Heddle and Marnie McBean did it in 1992 and 1996.

"It's an unbelievable feeling, hard to describe," said Valent, the older of the pair at 32. "This is like a new gold medal for us because it's in a second discipline, so we celebrate it like it's the first one for us.

"We couldn't be happier. Everything went as planned, we executed the race perfectly."

As for looking toward a potential fourth medal at Paris 2024, Martin Sinkovic said the brothers were done with pairs competitions but might look to row the four in three years' time. 

RIO POLE VAULT BRONZE MEDALLIST OUT WITH COVID

Sam Kendricks of the USA, the 2016 bronze medallist and 2017 world champion in the pole vault, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete in Tokyo, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced.

The USOPC said Kendricks has been transferred to a hotel and been placed in isolation in accordance with protocols.

"Sam is an incredible and accomplished member of Team USA and his presence will be missed," the USOPC said. "Out of respect for his privacy, we cannot provide more information at this time."

Earlier on Thursday in its daily media briefing, the International Olympic Committee said three athletes were among the 24 people who had come back positive for COVID-19 in the most recent round of testing.

STRAKA HAS CLUBHOUSE LEAD AS GOLF GETS UNDER WAY

Austria's Sepp Straka went out with the first grouping in the opening round of the men's golf tournament and set the pace for everyone who teed off behind him, taking the clubhouse lead with a 63 on Thursday morning.

Ranked 161st in the world this week after missing the cut at six of his last seven PGA Tour events, Straka turned in a bogey-free round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club, carding four birdies on the front nine and four more on the back.

Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico finished with six-under-par 65s among the early starters to sit two back of the lead.

Several major winners including Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Collin Morikawa were still on the course.

AUSTRALIA OPEN RUGBY SEVENS DEFENCE WITH ROUT

Defending women's rugby sevens gold medallists Australia made a statement as they opened pool play with a crushing 48-0 defeat of hosts Japan after leading 24-0 at half-time.

Emma Tonegato got three tries while Demi Hayes and debutant Maddison Levi had two each for Australia, who face China later on Thursday.

"I definitely was concerned about this game," said Australia's head coach John Manenti. "Japan, playing at home, it would be very emotional for them and the pressures and expectations could have built on us.

"But I was really pleased with that clinical first half. We could relax at the end of the game and give a few of the girls debuts."

New Zealand, beaten finalists at Rio 2016, began their Tokyo campaign with a 29-7 win over Kenya.

REIGNING BMX GOLD MEDALLISTS ADVANCE TO SEMIS

BMX racers opened competition at Ariake Urban Sports Park, with defending gold medallist Connor Fields of the USA and current world number one Sylvain Andre of France among those booking their spots in the semi-finals.

Andre's countryman Joris Daudet had the top time of the day in his last run to make Friday's semis along with Rio 2016 bronze medallist Carlos Ramirez of Colombia.

On the women's side, world number one and Rio 2016 gold medallist Mariana Pajon of Colombia won all three of her preliminary races to advance, along with 2016 silver medallist Alise Willoughby of the USA.

Willoughby's team-mate Felecia Stancil turned in the best overall time of the day on her first run and also is one of the 16 semi-finalists.

Caeleb Dressel triumphed over rival Kyle Chalmers in one of the best races of Tokyo 2020, while China pulled off an upset to win an incredible women's 4x200m freestyle race in a world-record time.

Dressel was one of three competitors to set new Olympic benchmarks in the individual races at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Thursday, with Zhang Yufei and Zac Stubblety-Cook also doing so en route to winning gold.

There was glory for Dressel's United States team-mate in the men's 800m freestyle, too, where Bobby Finke topped the podium.

Here is a recap of all the goings-on from another enthralling session at the pool.

DRESSEL EDGES CHALMERS IN THRILLERS

Earlier this week, it was Australia beating the US in one of the races of the meet when Ariarne Titmus held off Katie Ledecky in the 400m free. 

This time it was glory for Team USA as Dressel won his second gold of the Games in an awesome 100m free final, with Australia's defending champion Chalmers just 0.10 seconds behind.

These two had battled before, with Chalmers entering the Games with two victories to one over the past five years, and the duo delivered an enthralling battle down the stretch.

But it was Dressel, part of the US team that won the 4x100m free relay earlier this week, who touched home in an Olympic record of 47.02 seconds.

TITMUS, LEDECKY BEATEN AS CHINA PULL OFF WR

Titmus has been one of the stars of these Games, pulling off a 200m and 400m free double. She and her previous record-holding Australia team-mates were favourites for gold in the 4x200m relay but had to settle for third in a race where each of the top three went under the previous world record time.

It was the foursome from China that pulled off the big win, leading from the first leg and holding on despite a frantic finish in which Ledecky so nearly anchored the United States to first place.

Ledecky fell narrowly short, though, as the US quartet took silver.

FINKE'S FINAL FLURRY

The opening race of the day produced a thrilling finish in the first men's 800m freestyle Olympics final, with Finke taking gold after turning on the jets late on.

Finke was seemingly not in contention after turning for the final 100m down in fifth and was still behind Germany's Florian Wellbrock, Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine's Mykhailo Romanchuk on the turn for home.

But a sensational 26.39 split down the final stretch completed a stunning comeback to take gold for the United States ahead of Paltrinieri and Romanchuk.

NEW OLYMPIC RECORDS FOR ZHANG AND STUBBLETY-COOK

China's Zhang swam the third fastest time ever to take a dominant gold for China in the women's 200m butterfly.

Zhang hit the front early and never looked troubled en route to touching home first in a time of 2:03.86, a new Olympic record.

American duo Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger were second and third. Since 2012, the United States had landed a medal in every pool event bar the women's 200m butterfly, with this ending the longest medal drought in US swimming.

Stubblety-Cook took out the men's 200m breaststroke final thanks to a barnstorming last 50m.

The Australian moved into the top three at the 150m mark and powered home in a time of 2:06.38, beating Arno Kamminga and Matti Mattsson to top spot.

Japan remained top of the medal table at the Tokyo Olympics as they collected another three golds on day five.

Daiki Hashimoto, 19, was the standout performer as he secured a last-minute win in the men's all-around gymnastic final, with China's Ruoteng Xiao and the Russian Olympic Committee's pre-event favourite Nikita Nagornyy settling for silver and bronze.

That win took the host nation to 13 golds, with Chizuru Arai in the women's 70kg judo – their eighth medal in the sport at the Games so far – and Yui Ohashi in the women's 200m individual medley the other victors.

China pulled one clear of the United States as they also collected three golds on Wednesday. Shi Zhiyong broke his own world record to win the men's weightlifting 73kg event, while Wang Zongyuan and Xie Siyi brought China's third diving gold at the Games with victory in the men's synchronised 3m springboard final.

The USA had to settle for silver in China's diving win, though they did pick up gold in the debut 3-on-3 women's basketball event by defeating the Russian Olympic Committee.

Katie Ledecky and Erica Sullivan captured an American one-two in the women's 1500m freestyle meaning only Michael Phelps (13) has more individual Olympic success than Ledecky.

The Russian Olympic Committee remain fourth despite not winning gold on a frustrating day that saw them finish runners-up in both 3x3 basketball events and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

Australia enjoyed a memorable day in rowing as they battled to back-to-back golds in both the male and female coxless four, with Ariane Titmus setting a Games record in the women's 200m freestyle to move the Australians up to six golds.

Due to Australia's success on the water, Great Britain's dominant five-gold run in the men's coxless four that stretched back to Sydney 2000 came to an end, though they did collect a first silver medal in men's quad sculls.

Tom Dean, who won gold on Tuesday, was part of the men's 4x200m freestyle team that picked up Team GB's only gold of the day as they moved down to sixth place.

Ash Barty has followed up her shock women's singles defeat by crashing out of the women's doubles after an epic clash with Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

World number one Barty was stunned in the first round of the women's singles on Sunday by Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo but teamed up with Storm Sanders in the doubles, with the Australian pair reaching the quarter-finals.

However, Krejcikova and Siniakova proved too strong in a three-set thriller, winning 3-6 6-4 10-7.

"You never quite have their measure,” Barty said. "It's disappointing but there's only a couple of points in that match, here and there and it's a different result.

"We did everything right today but just weren't able to win those big points when it mattered most."

Barty's medal hopes are now entirely focused on the mixed doubles, where she has partnered with John Peers.

Andy Murray's bid to become the first male to win four Olympic tennis medals ended with defeat to Croatia's Marin Cilic and Ivan Dogic in the men's doubles.

Murray, teaming up with Joe Salisbury, went down in two hours and 18 minutes after also winning the first set. The Croatian pair won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-7.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist had withdrawn from the men's singles on Sunday due to a right quad injury, preferring to focus on playing doubles. TeamGB have not fielded a mixed doubles team.

TITMUS DOUBLES UP, LEDECKY LIFTS FOR GOLD

Ariarne Titmus backed up her women's 400m freestyle gold medal from Monday with another triumph, getting the better of rival Katie Ledecky to win the 200m free.

The 20-year-old Australian won the final ahead of Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey and Canada's Penny Oleksiak, while Ledecky finished back in fifth.

Ledecky would claim her sixth Olympic gold medal, triumphing in the women's 1500m free, with the US claiming a rare one-two as Erica Sullivan grabbed the silver ahead of Germany's Sarah Kohler.

After being beaten twice by Titmus earlier in the meet, Ledecky said: "I approach each race with a belief in myself. It's the attitude I've always had that's why I've been so successful. Anything can happen, [the attitude I go in with is] I can beat the world record in this race. 

Japan's Yui Ohashi won the women's 200m individual medley, Hungarian favourite Kristof Milak powered to victory in the men's 200m butterfly and Great Britain triumphed in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

STEERING ERROR COSTS GB IN ROWING

Australia claimed two gold medals in the rowing at Sea Forest Waterway as Great Britain were left to lament a wayward finish in the men's four final.

Australian quartet Alexander Purnell, Spencer Turrin, Jack Hargreaves and Alexander Hill won in 5:42:76 ahead of Romania and Italy who claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Italy's late charge almost saw a collision with Great Britain, who finished in fourth, after veering towards the neighbouring Italian boat, narrowly avoiding a clash of oars.

GB's Oliver Cook, who steered the men's coxless four, told BBC Sport: "I do (have the steering). I need to diagnose it but I feel I screwed up a bit and as I was closing in at the end and taking big strokes at the end going for the line I forgot the steering and that’s what cost us to be honest, cost us a medal."

Australia also won the women's four narrowly ahead of the Netherlands by 0:34 seconds, with Ireland claiming the bronze more than five seconds back.

Romania secured its first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics by winning the women's double sculls final, while France triumphed in the men's equivalent.

The Netherlands and China triumphed in the men's and women's quadruple sculls finals respectively.

RADRADRA DREAMING OF FIJI SEVENS GOLD

New Zealand will take on 2016 gold medalists Fiji in the final of the men's rugby sevens on Wednesday evening.

Fiji went through to the gold medal match with a 26-14 triumph over Argentina, who will take on Great Britain for bronze.

New Zealand were too strong for the British, winning 29-7 in their semi-final, with two tries each to captain Scott Curry and Regan Ware.

Former NRL star Semi Radradra, who plays for Fiji after switching codes in 2017 and scored a try against Argentina, said: "Playing in the Olympics is a blessing for me. I never knew I would be here.

"I think it is everyone's highlight to win a gold medal in the Olympics. That is our aim and we try to give back to our people at home."

USA RESTORES CONFIDENCE IN BASKETBALL

Team USA restored some confidence following their first-up loss to France with a comprehensive 120-66 thrashing of Iran in men's basketball.

USA played fast throughout, wasting no time in offense, with Damian Lillard top scoring with 21 points, all from beyond the arc.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine had eight assists along with his 13 points while Devin Booker, who played in the NBA Finals last week, scored 16 points and had five rebounds and three steals.

USA head coach Gregg Popovich rotated his roster on and off the court, sharing minutes, as hos team piled on 38 points in the last quarter to round out a comprehensive victory.

In Group B, Germany defeated Nigeria 99-92 despite Jordan Nowra's 33-point haul.

Katie Ledecky called on a source of inspiration close to home as she ended her wait for a gold at the Tokyo Games with victory in the women's 1500m freestyle final.

Ledecky, who Olympic great Micheal Phelps hailed as "the best female swimmer that we have ever seen", had endured a frustrating start to the Games, failing to defend the 200 metre and 400m free golds which she won at Rio 2016.

Australia's Ariarne Titmus has instead enjoyed the breakthrough to stardom this time around, but Ledecky finally struck gold in Tokyo as she powered to glory in the maiden women's 1500m event.

It took her total of Olympic golds to six – the 24-year-old becoming the fourth female swimmer to reach that mark, after compatriots Jenny Thompson (eight) and Amy van Dyken (six), and Germany's Kristin Otto (six).

Ledecky, who clocked in at 15:37.34, is also just the fourth American woman to claim six golds, after Thompson, Van Dyken and Allyson Felix.

Erica Sullivan clinched silver to seal a one-two for Team USA, and Ledekcy revealed her thought process following a disappointing fifth-place finish in the 200m race.

"After the 200, I knew I had to turn the page very quickly and in the warm-down pool I was just thinking of my family," said Ledecky, who has now won gold medals at three different Games, following success in London, at the age of 15, and Rio.

"Each stroke I was thinking of my grandparents. They're the toughest four people I know and that's what helped me get through that.

“It means a lot. People maybe feel bad that I'm not winning everything, but I want people to be more concerned about other things in the world. People are truly suffering. I'm just proud to bring home a gold medal to Team USA.”

Sullivan's silver handed the USA's first one-two finish in a women's swimming race since Sydney 2000, when Brooke Bennett and Diana Munz wrapped up the top prizes in the 400m freestyle.

“I'm so happy to go one-two with Erica," Ledecky added. "It is the first women's 1500m (freestyle in Olympic history) so I couldn’t have a better outcome than that. I’m so, so happy."

Sarah Kohler completed the podium to become the first German swimmer to win an Olympic medal since 2008.

One of the enduring images of Tokyo 2020 will be the sight of Dean Boxall's exuberant celebrations after Ariane Titmus won an epic women's 400 metres freestyle race.

It was the sheer joy and exuberance on the face of the rock-star looking coach as he wildly revelled in the momentous achievement of his pupil, who had just toppled the great Katie Ledecky in the most sensational fashion.

"I can't help it. I bleed with my athletes. When they leave the pool deck with me – whether I'm having a chat with them for an hour if it has to be – but when they leave, they have to start the recovery process and go home. They switch off. I don't. I go home and dream for them. I go home and try and find a way for them to get better," Boxall explained after he had gone viral on social media.

Titmus herself saw the funny side.

"That's just the way Dean is," she said. "He's very passionate about what he does – he really becomes quite animated.

"This is just as much for him as it is for me. He has sacrificed a lot in his family life, his kids and his wife, for his job. He puts 100 per cent into being a swimming coach. I would not be here without him."

But it was something else Boxall said that really went furthest to explaining his emotional display.

"I've been with her for five years. Having a dream together. Katie was so far in front of us that in the beginning when I started to coach her I couldn't even have this conversation," he said.

"When Arnie came to me she was a 4.12 [in the 400m]. At that stage Katie went 3.56. That's 16 seconds. We just started chipping away, we started to believe."

From a dream, to belief, to the reality of being an Olympic champion.

On Wednesday, Titmus would confirm her status as a breakout star of Tokyo 2020 with another victory in the 200m free filled with fight, desire and a never-say-die attitude.

Billed as Titmus versus Ledecky II, there was a sense of deja vu about Litmus' performance but another battle with her equally brilliant rival – now a six-time gold medallist over three Games after winning the first ever Olympics women's 1500m race – failed to transpire as the American could only finish fifth.

Instead it was Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey who brought the very best out of Titmus. It took a huge effort down the final 50m to break the Olympics record in a time of 1:53.50.

At the medal ceremony there were tears and a warm embrace with Boxall, the emotion spilling out of this cool customer after becoming just the third Australian, along with Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe, to complete a 200 and 400m free double at a single Olympics.

"I feel like I'm pretty good at containing my emotion I knew that's something I had to do after the 400 because the 200 was right after," Titmus told a news conference after doubling up.

"Now that I haven't got a swim tonight I think I kind of let it out a bit, seeing him [Boxall] and seeing him emotional makes me emotional because this is a great partnership, this isn't just me winning, this is him winning so I think that's why I got so emotional."

For the uninitiated, this week is not the first time Titmus has triumphed over Ledecky, the 20-year-old from Tasmania having taken out the gold at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju.

But Ledecky, who had won the 200 and 400m free at Rio in 2016, had been contending at that meet with a stomach virus and prior to this week it was far from certain where the golds were headed.

Titmus has emphatically answered the question, though, and it is her personable qualities that have made her resonate this week.

So too have the ferocity, tenacity and sheer awesome speed of her performances.

The Aquatics Centre, as Titmus herself adhered to when addressing the media, provides about as close to a normal experience as you're likely to find at Tokyo 2020. While there are still swathes of empty seats in this 15,000 capacity venue, there are areas designated to team-mates and coaches – all cheering, chanting and applauding to create at least some semblance of an Olympics atmosphere. 

But it is Litmus' displays that have brought true electricity, not only to the pool but for the Games at large.

Two more chances at gold lie in wait in the 800m (where Ledecky, a gifted long-distance swimmer, is favourite) and the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Regardless of what happens in those races, a new star has been born.

Ariarne Titmus stole the show again in the pool at Tokyo 2020, while Yui Ohashi also doubled up and Katie Ledecky got herself on the gold trail.

Australia's Titmus was back competing against Ledecky just two days on from their epic in the 400m free, though the latter was not in medal contention this time in the shorter 200.

However, the American – who has previously described herself as a "distance swimmer with a sprinter's mentality" – did become a six-time Olympic gold medallist on Wednesday.

Here's a round-up from the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

TERRIFIC TITMUS DOUBLES UP

Wednesday's 200m freestyle race was billed as Titmus versus Ledecky II, with the former upstaging her American rival in the 400m free in a thriller two days earlier.

This time Ledecky was off the pace down in fifth and it was Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey providing the test as Titmus had to pull one out of the bag again to get the gold.

A storming last 50m propelled her to a new Olympic record time of 1:53.50 and cemented her status as a breakout star.

"I could see I was trying to mow Siobhan down on the third 50. I had no idea where she was on the last lap. I knew I had Penny [Oleksiak, bronze] covered but Siobhan was the person that was there," Titmus said.

"I felt a little bit that was there. I felt a little bit - my legs started to go a bit but I'm happy to get it done."

Titmus joins Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe as the only Australians to complete a 200/400m freestyle double at a single Games.

JOY OF SIX FOR LEDECKY

She may have been unable to retain two of her titles from 2016 but the awesome Ledecky added to her gold medal haul with a dominant win in the first ever women's 1500m free Olympics final.

The American came home in 15:37.34 to lead a US one-two from Erica Sullivan.

Ledecky has now won gold medals at three different Games, having also topped the 800m free podium at London 2012.

OHASHI MARVELS IN IM ONCE MORE

Another star of these Games has been Ohashi, who will have delighted the Japanese fans watching at home after adding to her 400 individual medley crown in the shorter 200m race.

A race tipped to be wide open proved to be so with Ohashi battling stroke-for-stroke down the final 50m with American Alex Walsh, who was pipped by just 0.13 seconds.

Walsh's compatriot Kate Douglass rounded off the podium in third.

MILAK MAULS RIVALS

You can never be fully certain of an outcome in any sport but Kristof Milak was about as close to a shoo-in in the men's 200m butterfly as you can get.

So it proved to be. The Hungarian at least had the good decency to allow his rivals to believe they had a chance before absolutely blasting them out the water with his trademark finishing power.

Milak came home in a time of 1:51.25, a new Olympic benchmark and only half a second off his own world-record time. Japan's Tomoru Honda took silver from lane eight, some 2.48 seconds adrift.

DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR DEAN AS TEAMGB STAR IN RELAY

There was to be no record for TeamGB in the men's 4x200 free but they utterly dominated the competition to bring home gold in a time of 6:58.58.

Tom Dean, champion over the distance in the individual race on Tuesday, anchored the first leg before James Guy hit the front on his stint.

Matt Richards further stretched the advantage and Duncan Scott – who took silver behind Dean – brought it home in style with the Russian Olympic Committee over three seconds behind to take silver.

Australian swimming star Ariarne Titmus says her gold medal winning heroics are yet to fully sink in after de-throning Katie Ledecky to win the women's 200m freestyle on Wednesday.

Titmus edged out Ledecky in Monday's women's 100m freestyle final and backed that up with her second gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Australian won in 1:53:50, setting a new Olympic record, as she edged out Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey by 0.42 seconds.

Canada's Penny Oleksiak claimed bronze, with five-time Olympic gold medallist Ledecky finishing down in fifth.

Titmus looked calm and composed in the pool after winning her second gold, with further races to come into the 4x200m freestyle relay and 800m freestyle.

"I don’t think it'll settle in until I get home and have a rest," Titmus told Australian TV network 7 after the race. "When you're in this situation you have to compartmentalise everything.

"I think once I stop racing, I think I'll release everything. On to the relay and 800m now. I don't want to ruin the rest of my meet by celebrating too hard. I'm proud with what I've achieved."

Haughey led Titmus at the final turn but the Australian stormed home over the last 50m, similar to Monday's win over Ledecky, although she said her "legs started to go".

"I was trying to mow Siobhan down in the third 50," Titmus said. "I had no idea where she was in the last five.

"I knew I had Penny covered but Siobhan was the person that was there. At the end my legs started to go but I'm happy to get it done."

She added: "Before we left, Sydney went into lockdown, it's really sad. I'm happy that the Olympics are here and we can hopefully bring some excitement to loungerooms.

"I'm fortunate to be here. I'm from a small town in Tassie [Tasmania]. It goes to show, if you believe you can do something, you can 100 per cent do it if you work for it."

Host nation Japan remain top of the Olympic Games medal table, one gold medal clear of the United States and China, thanks to another two gold medals on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Japan now have 10 golds at the Games, five of which have come in Judo, despite home favourite Naomi Osaka crashing out to Czech world number 42 Marketa Vondrousova in the women's singles tennis.

The USA extended their gold medal count to nine, with 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby stealing the headlines courtesy of gold in the 100m breaststroke – their third in the pool so far – though they had to settle for silver in softball as they lost to table-toppers Japan.

China, who have dominated the shooting to win eight medals in nine events, picked up three more golds with success in the 10m air pistol mixed event, the 10m air rifle mixed event and the women's 10m synchronised platform - their second diving gold in Tokyo.

The Russian Olympic Committee remain fourth with seven golds after winning the day's big event, the women's team artistic gymnastics, but that was overshadowed due to American Simone Biles withdrawing due to concerns over her mental health.

The Russians surprised in the pool, too, with Evgeny Rylov claiming 100m backstroke gold that forced defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy to settle for bronze – that result represented the USA's first backstroke defeat since the 1992 Barcelona games.

After team-mate Adam Peaty's call for a British gold surge, Tom Dean and Duncan Scott made history by winning the first British swimming one-two since 1908 in the 200m freestyle.

Dean and Scott's swimming achievements capped a positive day for Great Britain that saw them collect six medals in total to stay in fifth place.

Meanwhile, Flora Duffy made history for Bermuda with gold in the women's triathlon as the tiny Caribbean island became the smallest country to ever win Gold at the Summer Games.

There was plenty of drama in Tokyo on Tuesday and that is set to continue as the Olympic Games ramps up further on Wednesday.

A titanic tussle in the swimming pool should be well worth watching, but action on the bikes and in the basketball court will also draw plenty of eyes.

Stats Perform guides you through the events not to be missed.

TITMUS OUT TO TOP LEDECKY AGAIN

Katie Ledecky is one of the dominant forces in the pool, taking gold in each of her prior four individual Games finals since her 2012 debut as she headed to Tokyo, but she was upset in the 2020 opener.

Ariarne Titmus, the 20-year-old Australian, beat the United States' world record holder by more than half a second in the 400m freestyle final.

Now, Titmus is coming for Ledecky's crown again as the pair do battle in the 200m freestyle, where another victory would send a significant message.

TOUR STARS TAKE ON TIME TRIAL

There are no shortage of big names in the men's time trial, with a number of Grand Tour winners involved – including Geraint Thomas, no doubt determined to put on a show after his fall in the road race.

The last two men to head out perhaps represent the most likely Olympic champions, though, as Wout van Aert and Filippo Ganna go for gold.

Van Aert won the final two stages of the Tour de France, including a time trial on the penultimate day of the race.

FOCUS ON THE FOUR

The first rowing medals of the Games are to be handed out on Wednesday, and the women's four – back in the Olympics for the first time in 30 years – should provide plenty of intrigue.

World champions Australia changed their line-up for the Olympics, having not competed internationally since taking their title in 2019. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, world silver medallists and back-to-back European champions, have been dominant.

The two teams won their respective heats, but Australia's time of six minutes and 28.76 seconds was an Olympic best and almost five seconds quicker than the Dutch. Whether that chasm will remain when the boats are side by side is another matter.

TWO-WAY TUSSLE IN THE GYM

There is more gymnastics action to look forward, with the men's individual final taking place.

Home hope Daiki Hashimoto qualified with the best score and was outstanding for Japan in the team event, yet could only take silver as the hosts were pipped by the Russian Olympic Committee.

It was Nikita Nagornyy's floor routine which sealed that Russian success and he will be bidding for another gold, having trailed Hashimoto in second in qualification.

CAN DREAM TEAM RECOVER FROM NIGHTMARE START?

The United States' latest men's basketball title defence started in miserable fashion with a defeat to France, the team who eliminated them at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

It was Team USA's first Olympics loss since 2004, but it is highly unlikely a second will follow as they face Iran. A big performance is needed regardless to calm the critics.

While France delivered the upset in the basketball, they face their own humiliation in the football. Only a two-goal win against hosts Japan, themselves needing a point, will secure progress through Group A for Les Bleus.

Simone Biles said she had put her "mental health first" after missing out on adding a fifth Olympic gold medal to her collection following an early withdrawal from the women’s team final.

The 24-year-old gymnastics icon revealed she was “dealing with things internally” after a disappointing performance on the vault.

Biles posted the lowest score of the first rotation on Tuesday as she landed awkwardly after failing to execute an Amanar, while only completing a Yurchenko 1.5 twist.

After she subsequently withdrew, Team USA had to settle for a silver medal behind the Russian Olympic Committee while Great Britain completed the podium.

Biles admitted that she was "fighting demons", explaining: "I just don't trust myself as much as I used to. I don't know if it's age. I'm a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I'm also not having as much fun."

She added: "I say, 'put mental health first'. Because if you don't, you won't enjoy sport and won't succeed as much as you want to.

"So it's okay sometimes to sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong a competitor and person that you really are, rather than just battling through it."

OSAKA STUNNED

The big names continue to tumble in the women’s singles tennis event, with second seed Naomi Osaka defeated in straight sets.

The home favourite, who lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday, was denied a place in the quarter-finals after being ousted 6-1 6-4 by world number 42 Marketa Vondrousova.

This event marked Osaka’s first competitive tennis in two months since her early withdrawal from the French Open at the end of May, citing mental health issues.

The world number two is the latest of the big names to fall at the Tokyo Games, with top seed Ash Barty and third seed Aryna Sabalenka also suffering early exits.

"Of course, it's one of the biggest wins of my career," Vondrousova said. "Naomi is a great player, so I knew it would be a tough match. 

“I'm very happy with my play. I played amazingly in the first set, and then the second set was really tough. I'm just happy to be through."

ARGENTINA RECOVER TO SEE OFF SPRINGBOKS

Argentina recovered from a dreadful start to beat South Africa and book their place in the rugby seven semi-finals.

Trailing 7-0 after just under two minutes, the Pumas were then reduced to six men when Gaston Revol - who was reduced to tears - was shown a straight red card.

Nevertheless, they demonstrated tremendous resilience and character before eventually running out 19-14 winners.

Argentina will play Fiji in the last four after the reigning Olympic champions swept Australia aside 19-0.

Great Britain stormed back from 21-0 down to beat the USA, scoring four tries to secure a dramatic 26-21 victory.

Team GB will play New Zealand, who eased to a 21-10 success over Canada.