Lane lines from 2011 -  a trawl through the aquatic headlines of the past year: May and June

MAY

3: Tom Jager, one of the greatest sprint freestylers in swimming history, is named as the new head coach at Washington State University

3: At the Maria Lenk Trophy in Sao Paulo, Cesar Cielo, Olympic and world champion, clocks 21.73 leading off a club 4x50m freestyle relay

4: Cesar Cielo doesn't take a breath on his way to a 21.95 victory over 50m free at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Sao Paulo; the meet would take on a different colour some weeks later when Cielo and three others test positive for a banned substance in test samples taken at the event in Sao Paulo

5: Olympic 200m and world 100m champion Rebecca Soni (USA) clocks 1:05.79 over 100m at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro ahead of Trojan teammate Jessica Hardy, on 1:06.13

7: Olympic silver medallist and 2009 world champion Keri-Anne Payne (GBR) books her place in the marathon world-title race in Shanghai in July with a dominant 1hr 52.12 victory in her first 10km race of the season at the LEN Open Water Cup in Eilat, Israel; she will go on to retain her world crown 

7: Kaio Almeida impresses with a 1:55.22 victory over 200 'fly at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Rio de Janeiro

9: Australia's Melissa Gorman and America's Andrew Gamell win the Fran Crippen 10km Safety Swim in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "To be able to celebrate Fran Crippen’s life in this way has been a humbling experience" - Greg Towle, one of those who investigated the swimmer's death for the FINA Task Force report

9: Nine-times world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Thomas Lurz leads the first four Germans to earn selection for the open water world titles in Shanghai

9: Reports reveal that Alex Baumann, Olympic and world medley champion and record holder for Canada in the 1980s, had his prostate removed in late April after a PSA blood test revealed cancer; he emphasises importance of early diagnosis 

13: Cullen Jones claims a berth on the USA team for the world championships with a 22.24sec freestyle dash victory in a time trial on the eve of the Charlotte Ultra meet, 0.04sec ahead of the other contender, Josh Schneider; the race came about because Schneider had been denied entry to what was effectively the trials race because of a bureaucratic slip-up

13: In a welter of competitive comebacks, one big fish swims back to the race pool almost unnoticed: former world record holder Otylia Jedrzejczak (POL) clocks sub-minute 100m 'fly at her first big race since deciding to give it another go

13: Rebecca Soni on 1:05.57, best in the world so far this year, and Jessica Hardy on 1:05.90 over 100m breaststroke at the Charlotte UltraSwim

14: Michael Phelps's record of invincibility over his long-course 200m 'fly signature event having been broken back in March, Wu Peng (CHN) drives another nail home with a 1:56.83 victory over the Olympic and world champion at the Charlotte UltraSwim

15: Michael Phelps pips Olympic champion Ryan Lochte over 200m backstroke at the Charlotte UltraSwim, winning in 1:57.20 to 1:58.82 

16: Elaine Tanner, called Mighty Mouse back home as the 5ft 3in girl who became Canada's first woman to win an Olympic swimming medal, is to host an online auction of a collection of her medals and memorabilia from her swimming legacy.

16: The 31st European Swimming Championships will take place in Antwerp (BEL) in 2012, the LEN Bureau decides

17: Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, reveals plans to overhaul the Russian sports system by reviving the best traditions of sports schools, talent spotting and provision of facilities, including 500 new swimming pools

24: The world's fastest 100m freestyler of the year, 19-year-old James Magnussen, apologises for labelling Adelaide (host city for there 2012 Olympic trials) an "absolute joke" on his Facebook page after copping it from a few of his teammates who had made mistakes themselves in their time

27: Austria's Dinko Jukic refused a drug test in the past week on the basis that he was unhappy with prevailing hygiene standards; case will be drawn out for many months before an unsatisfactory conclusion that sets precedent for refusing blood tests as swimmer is let off after citing case of a Russian who suffered infection in a blood test in July, long after his own refusal

30: Paul Biedermann, world 200m and 400m freestyle champion, attacks FINA for orchestrating a form of governance that "borders on modern slavery" in terms of obliging swimmers to advertise products with which they have no connection

31: In the wake of the successful Smart Track scheme of 2004-2005 British Swimming launches an Aspiring World Performers Programme (AWPP) squad of 16 members with a view to success at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016 and beyond

JUNE

The future of FINA

• Introduction
• Who Decides
• Coaches
• Integrity and Intent
• Inclusive, Exclusive
• Stars of the Show
• Accountability

3: In the 8th session of German nationals in Berlin, swimmers finally got to race for places at the world titles in Shanghai, with Paul Biedermann keeping Clemens Rapp at bay for victory in the 400m free in 3:47.44 but was outside the time target; he would go to Shanghai, of course, and two years on from Rome 2009 claimed two bronze medals, the best result of his career disregarding shiny suits

4: Olympic champion Britta Steffen clocks 54.14 in the 100m free at German nationals in Berlin, 0.06sec shy of the cut for defending her world crown; Marco Di Carli breaks Paul Biedermann's 100 free mark in 48.24, best in the world to that date in 2011, for a ticket to China

5: At German nationals in Berlin, Steffen books defence of her world 50 free crown; Biedermann sets up rematch with Phelps in 1:45.72 over 200 free; Christian Vom Lehn, 19, on 2:08.97 German record in 200 breast on his way to taking bronze at world titles in Shanghai

5: In Barcelona at the Mare Nostrum Tour, Alicia Coutts (AUS) cracks 2:10 with a 2:09.68 200IM to take helm of world rankings

6: While just 11 German swimmers qualified on time in solo events for the world championships in Shanghai 24 are selected, 15 of them men, as trials end in Berlin

7: German swimmers are the latest to be told not to eat beyond their hotel during the world champs in Shanghai in July because Clenbuterol is used illegally to beef up the beef and other livestock in China; team docs to examine food chain before swimmers tuck in

11: At Dutch nationals in Eindhoven, comeback mum Marleen Veldhuis edges out Ranomi Kromowidjojo in the 50m free

12: Janet Evans, 1988 triple Olympic champion, is back: 4:23, 8:59 for starters in 400m and 800m free races at the meet named after her 

12: Mare Nostrum Tour ends in Monte Carlo with of meet marks as Shanghai world titles loom - Ryosuke Irie (JPN) 1:54.34 200 back; Alex Dale Oen (NOR) 1:00.24 100 breast; Laszlo Cseh (HUN) 4:13.27 400IM; Camille Muffat (FRA) 4:05.46 400 free; Anastasia Zueva (RUS) 59.37 100 back; Natsumi Hoshi (JPN) 2:06.92 200 'fly

14: World backstroke dash champion Liam Tancock (GBR) is more scrum than Swan Lake but the former the former county junior winger reveals that has been practising his pirouettes and pliés on his pointes in front of a mirror with Loughborough teammates as ballet is added to the British armoury on the way to London 2012

14: Elizabeth Simmonds (GBR) races back into international contention with a 59.86 victory over 100m backstroke at ASA nationals that placed her on the Britain team for world titles  in Shanghai; Jemma Lowe and Fran Halsall go 57.43 and 57.44 100 'fly, locking European medallist Halsall out, Ellen Gandy having secured the first berth at spring trials

15: Downed by fatigue once more, Olympic silver and bronze medallist David Davies announces that he will miss the world titles in Shanghai and take a six-week recovery break before returning to the fray in readiness for a London 2012 campaign

16: European champion Elizabeth Simmonds swims back into contention five weeks out from world titles with a 2:07.49 victory over 200m backstroke at ASA championships in Sheffield for 11th hour selection

17: Jemma Lowe, of Swansea, bolsters Britain's medal chances at the world championships in Shanghai next month when she clocks the third fastest 200m butterfly time in the world this year at ASA nationals

17: At the Sette Colli international in Rome world champion Federica Pellegrini goes 4:04.67 in 400m free; Fran Halsall (GBR) sets meet mark of 57.48 in 100m 'fly (but won't race in Shanghai); Lotte Friis (DEN) on 16:09 in 1500m free

18: Olympic 400m champion Park Tae-hwan (KOR) fires a couple of shots across the bows of rivals, including Michael Phelps (USA), with two dominant victories at the Santa Clara International, on 48.92 and 3:44.99 in the 100 and 400m

19: Britain's Francesca Halsall (GBR) clocks 53.72 in 100m free at the Sette Colli International in Rome

20: world champion Ariana Kukors (USA) clocks the swiftest 200m medley time, 2:09.53, in the world to that date in 2011 at the Santa Clara International

20: The 2012 Olympic hosts, Britain, select a team of 40, 20 of each gender, for world titles in Shanghai

22: Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director of USA Swimming, wins the Great Comebacks National Award in the USA, a prize that each year honours "outstanding individuals who are inspiring others to live life to the fullest after surgery"; Wielgus had fought a battle with cancer

22: Brazil's backstroke sprinter Fabiola Molina is forced to withdraw from the world championships in Shanghai after receiving a two-month anti-doping ban following a positive test for a banned stimulant

23: The Michael Phelps Foundation today announced the expansion of its signature IM program through Boys & Girls Clubs of America, making it available to 16 Clubs across 14 states in summer 2011 (see Top Foundation Prize in our awards above)

24: At Hungarian nationals, teenager Bence Biczo, becomes the second swimmer in the world this season to crack 1:55sec, his winning 1:54.79 lifting him from 7th to 2nd on the world rankings and keeping at bay Olympic silver medallist Laszlo Cseh, on 1:55.98...

25: Sprint emperor Cesar Cielo (BRA) fires a couple of shots across the bows of rivals as he claims a brace of victories at the EDF Paris Open, a 48.26 blast over 100m freestyle following a 22.98 over 50m butterfly

26: A month out from the world championships in Shanghai, Yannick Agnel and Camille Muffat, both coached by Fabrice Pellerin at Nice, put in powerful performances at the EDF Paris Open: 1:45.59 200m free for him; 4:03.23 400m free for her

27: At the Fran Crippen Memorial meet in Mission Viejo, Trojan-based Yulia Efimova (RUS) sets a pool record of 2:23.66 200 breast 

27: Former breaststroke specialist Simon Cowley, now 30, seeks up to Aus$750,000 in damages as a result of "aggravating and exemplary damages" caused by Nick D'Arcy in an assault that led to a 14-month suspended sentence in 2008

28: Jacco Verhaeren, mentor to one of the all-time greats of freestyle swimming Pieter Van den Hoogenband, is voted coach of the decade by the Dutch coaches knowledge and network organisation NLcoach

29: Former world 100m freestyle champion Libby Trickett's comeback is confirmed as an exercise for the London 2012 Olympic Games when she finishes sixth in a 100m freestyle test in Adelaide; Aussie relay berths for Shanghai world titles go to Marieke Guehrer and Kyle Richardson

30: At Scottish nationals, Rafael Munoz (ESP), world record holder over 50m butterfly, falls shy of his target for a place in the world-title race in Shanghai in a last-chance trials; Hannah Miley warms up at home with a 4:37 400IM win over Mireia Belmonte (ESP)