Gary Hall Jr. shows his American pride, but will it be enough to topple the tough Aussies? (AP)

"I can't wait to get to Australia," said American swimmer Kristy Kowal, who swam at the Sydney pool during last year's Pan Pacific meet. "The fans are incredible. Swimming is treated like the NBA or NFL in this country. When you walk into the pool, it's so loud. The atmosphere is electric."

From the convenience store to the neighborhood pub, everyone in Australia seems to have a passion for swimming -- not surprising in a country where most people live near an ocean.

Stop someone on the street and there's a good chance that person will be able to recite the top times in each event. To cope with the enormous demand for Olympic tickets, Sydney organizers knocked out a wall in the Aquatic Center and expanded the capacity to 17,500. Seventeen-year-old Ian Thorpe -- the "Thorpedo" -- is his country's most famous athlete, akin to Mark McGwire or Shaquille O'Neal on the other side of the Pacific.

Clearly, the Americans face a daunting task as they head Down Under trying to maintain their place as the world's best swimming nation.

The United States has lost the medals race only twice in the last 48 years, most recently at the 1988 Seoul Games, which is also was the last time the Olympic trials were held in August rather than March.

The other time? The 1956 Games, the first to be held in Australia.

"It's like going into the lion's den," U.S. swimmer B.J. Bedford said. "The Australians are certainly going to have the advantage of the home field. We're all a little apprehensive about it."

Thorpe holds world records in the 200-meter and 400 freestyle events and will anchor Australia's 800-free relay team, which holds the world record. At 6-foot-5 and 211 pounds, he uses a huge wingspan to propel himself through the water. His size 18 feet churn up so much turbulence that a rival swimmer said Thorpe's wake is "like being in a washing machine." He was dubbed "swimmer of the century" a full two years ago by national coach Don Talbot.

"It's quite offensive to all the other swimmers that have come before me and have achieved so much," said Thorpe, downplaying his star power. "I haven't even been to an Olympic Games yet."

The Australians have assembled a formidable team around Thorpe, including sprint star Michael Klim, distance specialist Grant Hackett and new "Madame Butterfly" Susie O'Neill. But Talbot said the United States is still the deepest swimming nation on earth and will try to use the underdog role to its advantage, just as it did in Atlanta four years ago.

After failing to set any world records at the trials, the Americans won a stunning 13 gold medals at the 1996 Games. The scenario is much the same this time around.

"Sydney is not going to be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination," said Tom Malchow, world record holder in the 200 butterfly. "People say we're the underdogs. It's a position the U.S. has not been in before. But we'll go down there and definitely give the Australians a run for their money. Hopefully, we'll take the world by storm."

Certainly, the Americans won't be pushovers in Sydney, particularly on the men's side. The team has three world record holders in Malchow, backstroker Lenny Krayzelburg and medley star Tom Dolan, along with flamboyant sprinter Gary Hall Jr., who was diagnosed last year with diabetes but swam the second-fastest 50 freestyle in history at the trials.

On the women's side, Jenny Thompson will try to become the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history. Thirty-three-year-old Dara Torres, the oldest woman ever to make the team, should win several medals -- quite an accomplishment for someone who left the sport for seven years, dabbling in television and modeling before returning to the pool last year. Brooke Bennett is defending gold medalist in the 800 free.

But the Olympics are more than just a duel meet between the Americans and Aussies, with top swimmers coming to Sydney from such far-flung nations as South Africa (the great Penny Heyns) and Costa Rica (defending Olympic and world champion Claudia Poll).

"The competition is much more worldwide than it used to be," said Richard Quick, coach of the U.S. women's team. "There are swimmers in eight or nine countries with a chance to win gold medals."

Alexander Popov of Russia will try to pull off an amazing triple -- sweeping both the 50 and 100 frees for the third straight Olympics. But, outside of Thorpe, the sport's biggest star is Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands, a nation more known for its prowess on ice than water.

During a two-week period in late May, de Bruijn tied or broke six world records, twice beating her own marks and winding up with four new standards in the 50 and 100 freestyle and butterfly. She's favored to win three gold medals in Sydney (the 50 butterfly is not Olympic event) quite a change from four years ago, when she was kicked off the Dutch team for lack of motivation.

"Everybody said I was going to retire. Now, here I am," de Bruijn said. "I really feel like I'm floating on a cloud. All the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place. I can't wait for the Olympics. It's all I think about."

Thorpe and de Bruijn are leading what appears to be a golden age of swimming. There's been an all-out assault on the record book over the past year, with 14 new world marks established in the 26 individual events that will be contested in Sydney.

The dizzying times have been accelerated by the sport's greatest technological advance in more than two decades -- the bodysuit. The high-tech attire provides less resistance than shaved skin and supposedly allows the body to remain higher on the water.

"It's come along at the right time. It's getting everybody excited about the sport," said Malchow, who wears a suit that stretches from his chest to his ankles. "When I put the suit on, I feel confident. The mental edge is a big part of it."

But swimmers bristle at the notion that the bodysuit has transformed anchors into torpedoes

"The guys breaking the records didn't come out of nowhere," Hall said. "You're not going to get someone out of the stands, put him in a bodysuit and see him breaking world records."

There also have been hints that some of the top swimmers are being aided by performance-enhancing drugs.

Thorpe was tainted by the accusations of a German coach, who later apologized and said he was misquoted. De Bruijn began facing similar questions after she suddenly began breaking records in her mid-20s. Torres broke down in tears at the trials after a newspaper columnist said the drug issue was inevitable for someone making a successful comeback at her age.

Quick said he would never work with a swimmer using banned substances. But the Americans did bring in a specialist with cutting-edge information on approved nutritional supplements.

"I'm not going to stick my head in the sand and say we're not taking it," Quick said. "I'd rather it be supervised by a professional than have an athlete just go buy it off the shelf."