The Americans have owned the Olympic pool for time immemorial, however, in a post-Michael Phelps era and with a refurbished swim team, Team USA will be looking to stretch their domination in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Headlining the new-look swimming roster will be Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky.

The mighty USA have collected 33 medals, including 16 golds, to sweep the table in Rio, far ahead of Australia who came a distant second with just 10 in total.

But with talismanic Phelps, who loomed large at the last four Olympics, now retired and stalwarts Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian and Tony Ervin failing to qualify, they could struggle to match that haul when the starter’s gun fires at the newly-built Tokyo Aquatics Center on Saturday.

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Finals take place each morning, with heats in the evenings, to satisfy US broadcasters, a scheduling quirk that has not been tackled since Beijing in 2008.

While boasting some top-class athletes, the Americans also have a cohort untested on the world’s biggest stage with 35 newcomers, including 11 teenagers — the most since 1996.

“I think everyone who is on the team, we’re going to have to pick up the pace because what they left behind is huge,” said multi-event star Dressel, the heir apparent to Phelps.

In Rio, Dressel won two Olympic relay golds but no solo gold. He has now grown into a behemoth, capturing 13 global titles in the last two years.

He’ll compete in the 50m freestyle, as well as the 100m butterfly and 100m free, three events in which he’s the defending world champion, and four relays are conceivable.

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Meanwhile, Rio gold medallists Ryan Murphy (100 and 200m backstroke) and Lilly King (100m breaststroke) also return, as does Simone Manuel, but only in the 50m free and not the 100m free she won in Rio.

Meanwhile, Ledecky, who won four gold medals and one silver in Brazil, has a demanding schedule that includes swimming the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle, a new discipline to the Olympics for women this year.