Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE updates: Ariarne Titmus wins gold v Katie Ledecky, 4x100m freestyle relay gold and Winnington silver

How good are the Olympics? How good is swimming? How good is being on top of the medal tally? How forgiving are your neighbours?

If you’re anything like us on the ground in Paris, your adrenaline is through the roof and you’ll be hopping onto Amazon to order a new voice box before Day 2.

And wasn’t it worth it?

A quick recap from the pool:

• Silver for Elijah Winnington in the men’s 400m freestyle;
• Gold for Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 400m freestyle;
• Gold for the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team;
• Silver for the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team.

We’re not about playing favourites, but Arnie. The Terminator. The winning sequel. That was just special.

There was quite a lot else that happened on Day 1. Scroll down for a more exhaustive wrap, but here were some of the biggest storylines:

• Australia’s first gold medal was won by road cyclist Grace Brown in the women’s individual time trial (she didn’t just win it, she wiped the streets of Paris with them).
• Australia looked certain to win at least a bronze medal in women’s diving, before a horror final dive from Annabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney knocked them out.
• Jessica Fox enters the semi-finals of the women’s K1 canoe slalom on top of the field after an excellent second run this morning. The final is 1.45am (AEST) Monday morning.
• The Boomers won their opening match against Spain, the Kookaburras took care of business against Argentina and the men’s rugby sevens were knocked out of the medals after losses to Fiji and South Africa.

Alright, there’s plenty more to come. Tomorrow Fox goes for gold, there’s another big night at the pool, and we’re keeping our eye on Aussies competing for medals in the shooting, mountain bike race, street skateboarding and judo.

And don’t forget about the Matildas. They really need to bounce back against Zambia, while the women’s rugby sevens get going against South Africa and Great Britain.

That’s it for now. From myself, Rob Harris and Chloe Saltau, it’s been real.

Just as it was with the James Cameron/Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle, the sequel to the Race of the Century didn’t disappoint.

Ariarne Titmus repeated her heroics from Tokyo 2020, beating American arch rival Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle to take gold in Paris.

The biggest surprise of the race, dominated by Titmus, was how badly Ledecky faded to finish in third behind the Aussie superstar and Canadian Summer McIntosh.

Titmus touched home first in 3:57.49, trailed by McIntosh in 3:58.37 and Ledecky in 4:00.86.

GO YOU GOOD THING.

(I hope to say that a lot during these Games.)

A recreated look at how Ariarne Titmus defended her 400m freestyle crown.

Former Olympian Hayley Lewis has broken down while describing how happy she is for her son, Kai Taylor, after he won silver as a member of Australia’s 4x100m men’s freestyle team.

Lewis told Nine she only found out Taylor was swimming that afternoon when he telephoned her and her husband Greg while they were out for a walk.

“He wasn’t supposed to swim, and we knew how much he just loves teams, he loves relay teams and loves swimming for Australia, obviously. And you know, he just rang us before he swam, and said, ‘I feel really good, I’m going to do my best’. And we said, ‘we know you will just get up there and just have fun.’ And we’re just absolutely stoked to him,” she said.

Lewis, who paused and said she ‘can barely talk’ as she started crying as she spoke of her son’s achievements, said Taylor would be happy with his time in the 4x100m ahead of hopefully swimming in the 4x200m later in the week.

“Being a mum, it’s a real team effort that these kids have behind them, and we’re just so happy for him. He’s worked so hard,” she said.

Elijah Winnington has revealed the unorthodox mental technique behind his silver medal-winning composure. The trick? “Pretend it’s Disneyland.”

Winnington, speaking to Nine poolside, said the fun park is his favourite place in the world and when he was approaching the blocks he pictured himself queueing for one of his favourite rides.

Space Mountain or Magic Kingdom, in case you were wondering.

Whatever works, Elijah.

Just incredible. The Australian girls have blown the lid off this arena!

This is like a cross between a Taylor Swift concert and WWE wrestling. A wall of noise just swept across the pool just then as Meg Harris hit the wall. So many remarkable stories in that victory.

Perhaps the biggest of them all is that Emma McKeon who becomes the first Australian athlete to win SIX gold medals going past Ian Thorpe. And that’s her 12th medal all up.

Also what about the redemption tale of Shayna Jack, who has been determined to clear her name after having served a “hellish” suspension for doping.

Australia’s best Olympic performance in the pool was three years ago in Tokyo when we won nine gold medals, eclipsing the eight we won at the Melbourne 1956 Games. Can they win 10 this time?

It’s on the cards.