U.S. defeats Australia in Olympic duel in the pool, maintains swimming crown

Team USA and its Australian counterparts always seem to deliver the competitive drama when it comes their rivalry in Olympic swimming.

That rivalry hit a fever pitch ahead of the Paris Games, with Aussie swimmers making pointed comments about hearing the American anthem, cowbells and even took digs at Olympic legend Michael Phelps .

But despite all the talk, the Americans demonstrated to the world why they're still the dominant swim nation.

Team USA topped the total medal count (USA 28, AUS 18) and edged out Australia in golds (USA 8, AUS 7) — needing the final event of the swim program, the women's 4x100 medley relay , to snatch the victory.

If you dig deeper, however, the stats show Australia isn't necessarily the proverbial little brother it's been to the U.S anymore.

When their swimmers both appeared in individual event finals, the results were split right down the middle. There were eight instances of at least one Australian finishing ahead of the American swimmers and eight in the reverse.

Fascinatingly, only one man from each country won individual gold in Paris — American Bobby Finke in the 1500 freestyle and Australian Cameron McEvoy in the 50 freestyle.

The women, on the other hand, practically dominated the top of the podium. Individual golds won by American or Australian women were split evenly (USA 4, AUS 4).

But when the two nations went head-to-head in the relay events, the Americans dominated per usual, finishing ahead of the Aussies five times compared to two.

It'll be another four years before these two nations face off on the Olympic stage again, but the Los Angeles Games will be the perfect stage for another rematch.