Pool time: Is Australia v USA the biggest rivalry of the Paris Games?

The little Aussie battlers, in contrast, do their best with 26 million people, stepping into the golden limelight every couple of years around international events without the relative exposure, marketing and funding support.

But then, we are girt by sea, both an unusual national anthem lyric and a reality of life surrounded by some of the world's best beaches and waterways.

So the hype laps at the edges of the pool, potentially becoming a wave of belief Australia can beat America for the first time since the 1956 Melbourne Games, in Paris this month.

The world was quite obviously a very different place back then, it was more difficult to ship hundreds of athletes down under, in a climate of recovery and new prosperity after the second World War.

Australian sporting folklore is built on these achievements, where in 1956, the nation won eight swimming gold to the USA's two, in the same way Cathy Freeman wore the speed suit to win the 400m athletics gold and Sydney hosted the greatest Games ever in 2000.

And swimming usually sets the tone for the campaign, success breeds success and a pall of disappointment carries on from failure.

Remember James Magnussen being tipped out in the 100m freestyle final, in what became a hugely underwhelming two weeks for the gold and green in London in 2012?

Rivalries make for captivating television and an ocean-hopping wars of words.

Michael Klim and Ian Thorpe played the air strings poolside in celebration in Sydney in 2000, after American Gary Hall Junior declared the US would smash Australia 'like guitars' in the marquee 4x100m men's freestyle relay, an event the Star Spangled Banner had always been played at the medal ceremony, until then.

Like NSW v Queensland, Carlton v Collingwood, Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory or the Boston Celtics edging past the Los Angeles Lakers with a record 18^th NBA title this year, it's the history that guides us.

So can the Aussies do it? Can they land in Paris, the city of love, and produce the US-beating swimming medal haul they lust for?

Kaylee McKeown has seven of the fastest ever 100m women's backstroke times, but was given a jolt last month when American Regan Smith broke her world record with a blistering 57.13 at the trials in Indianapolis, two 10ths quicker.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed with that," McKeown said after hitting the wall in 57.41 in Adelaide to qualify.

"There is always room for improvement. My training has shown otherwise but I booked the ticket to Paris, so that's just a chance to go faster."

McKeown and Smith will also clash as the two favourites in the 200m backstroke. Game on.

Molly O'Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus are waging their own world record war across the training pool, under the watchful eye and thrustingly-excitable personality of coach Dean Boxall.

O'Callaghan was 0.37 seconds under the mark in the 200m freestyle final at the trials, the only problem was Titmus was a quarter of a second better in the next lane. Game on.

On SEN Radio, Olympics champion Stephanie Rice pondered McKeown emotional reaction heading to Paris.

"I think that Molly definitely has more to give, the only thing I would say I think it could go one of two ways," Rice said.

"I think she can really lift and think she's definitely got that in her, watching her emotionally at trials, it just worried me that if she doesn't get the first one under her belt, it could ruin her momentum.

"That's where an experienced swimmer like Ariane, I feel like she knows how to put that [bad] race behind her, reset emotionally, come out afresh the next day and that's really hard when you've got lots of races.

"If McKeown starts well, she'll ride off the momentum as well."

Grant Hackett knows a thing or two about O'Callaghan and Titmus's situation, having followed in the wake of the Thorpedo, while still securing his own Olympics legacy in longer-distance events.

"Between Molly and Ariarne, they're two of the greatest female swimmers that we've produced from the country and they've still got a lot of their careers to go," Hackett told SEN.

"I definitely think they can go 1-2, given their time, that was not an easy world record that Molly broke last year at the world championships, that was [previously] done in one of those super suits by a super swimmer from Italy [Federica Pellegrini].

"So the fact they went that far under the mark is so for ahead of the world, if they can just reproduce that performance we could get 1-2.

"It was quite funny, when they finished first and second, both breaking the world record, I walked into the cafe where I normally grab lunch in the city in Melbourne the following day and they said how unlucky Molly was, when she broke the world record and finished second.

"I said yeah, it only happened to me with Ian Thorpe about four times in my career, so I know how it feels."

McKeown, Titmus and O'Callaghan are the torchbearers for the Australian swimming campaign, the end of an era coming when Cate Campbell missed out on a spot for what would have been her fifth Olympics.

The emotional embrace from her Australian teammates while still in the pool showed the significance of the moment, the impact Campbell had with eight Olympics medals, four of them gold.

Yet, Campbell still fired one last shot at the Americans, in the form of resurfaced comments which raised the ire of the legendary Michael Phelps.

After beating the US at the world championships in Japan last year, the meet which sets up this epic showdown of the world's two best swimming nations, Campbell, even if a little tongue-in-cheek, called the Americans "sore losers".

"Australia coming out on top is one thing, but it is just so much sweeter beating America," she told the Nine Network.

"There were a couple of nights, particularly the first night of competition, where we did not have to hear the Star Spangled Banner ring out through the stadium and I cannot tell you how happy that made me.

"If I never hear that song again it will be too soon, "Bring on Paris, that's all I have to say. U.S., stop being sore losers."

As a 23-time Olympics gold medallist, Phelps lit the fuse for an explosive event on pool deck in Paris.

"If somebody said that to me, I would lose it," Phelps said after watching the clip. "I would make them eat every word they just said about me. Because people have done it. Chad le Clos, [Ian] Thorpe. You guys have all talked shit about me and I had the last laugh.

"So for the Americans, if you see what I just saw, I would watch that thing every day to give me that little extra bit of just oomph."

Emma McKeon, the most understated GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in Aussie sport, will be there in the 100m butterfly and the relays, a chance to add to her national record of 11 Olympics medals, five of them gold.

But she won't be there to defend the 50m and 100m freestyle gold medals, the events in Tokyo where she transformed from quiet achiever to international superstar.

Shayna Jack is now the No.1 Australian seed for the 50m freestyle (23.99 seconds), but has work to do to beat Sweden great Sarah Sjostrom (23.69 personal best).

O'Callaghan in the 100m (52.27) and Titmus in the 200m (1:52.23) and 400m (3:55.44) lead the charge, though Smith and the ever-present threat of Katie Ledecky can easily halt the dreams of overcoming the US for the first time in 68 years.

In the men's, Sam Short, under the weather throughout the trials, is in contention for medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle, while Elijah Winnington has the second fastest 800m time, only behind Ireland's Daniel Wiffen.

Cameron McEvoy is the fastest in the world this year in the 50m freestyle (21.13) and Kyle Chalmers is defying ongoing back problems to be a medal hope in the 100m.

However, it may well be in the women's events where the showdown with the US will be won and lost.

Rice expects the rivalry to live up to expectation in Paris after watching the trials.

"It's just creating so much intensity and anticipation as we lead into Paris and I feel like especially in the women's team, it's such a strong, great depth of (Australian) girls that have a lot of experience," she said.

"I'm feeling really confident about them when they come to Paris, but in all, it's one of our best Aussie teams."