It was billed as one of the most anticipated races of the Paris Olympics.

Ariarne Titmus turned it into a blowout.

Titmus left Katie Ledecky in her wake on a raucous opening night at La Defense Arena, leading from start to finish to win the 400-meter freestyle Saturday.

Titmus, the Australian star known as “Terminator,” handed Ledecky a second straight Olympic defeat in an event the American won at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

With her fingernails painted Aussie yellow, Titmus strolled on deck with the confidence of a reigning champion, flashing a big smile and waving to the fans.

Titmus actually faced her stiffest challenge from Canadian 17-year-old phenom Summer McIntosh but won comfortably in 3 minutes, 57.49 seconds.

McIntosh claimed the silver in 3:58.37. Ledecky wasn’t even close, settling for bronze in 4:00.86.

“My legs are a bit tired, but I’m just relieved more than anything,” Titmus said. “I probably felt the expectation and pressure for this race more than anything in my life, to be honest, and I’m pretty good at handling the pressure of it.”

Ledecky, 27, remains at six individual gold medals in her brilliant career, still the most of any female swimmer in Olympic history.

But, she couldn’t find the speed to chase down Titmus.

“I just didn’t have it on the last 200 or 250 that way I wanted to,” Ledecky said.

U.S. men win relay

The U.S. capped the night on a high when Caeleb Dressel anchored the men’s team to victory in the 4×100 free relay.

It was the eighth medal of Dressel’s career — all of them gold. He won five of those at the Tokyo Games, and he could be setting up for another glittering haul in the City of Lights.

On deck after the medal ceremony, Dressel embraced his 5-month-old son, August, with tears streaming down his face. It was an especially satisfying moment for a generational swimmer who fell out of love with his sport after Tokyo, leading him to take an extended break.

“It takes me back to my first gold,” the 27-year-old Dressel said. “It really doesn’t get old.”

U.S. tops Kiwis in soccer

Djordje Mihailovic converted a penalty as the United States pounced early in a 4-1 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to stave off possible elimination at the Olympics.Mihailovic calmly hit the penalty in the eighth minute after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the box by Matthew Garbett.

Four minutes later, senior player Walker Zimmerman, a defender, made it 2-0 when he poked in a goal in a scramble in front of the net following a free kick.

Gianluca Busio scored on a rebound at the half-hour mark and celebrated by dancing with teammate Kevin Paredes. Busio later left the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, but he said it was just a precaution.

Paxten Aaronson added a fourth goal for the United States in the 58th and New Zealand avoided the shutout with Jesse Randall’s late goal.