April 22-30 and May 1

The last day of April in 1971 saw Shane Gould clock 58.9sec in the 100m freestyle at Crystal Palace, London, to match the 1964 World record of fellow Australian Dawn Fraser, founder member of the Olympic triple crown club. The following day, May 1, Gould took down the World 200m free record held by another visitor to the Coca-Cola meet in the British capital, Debbie Meyer, American pioneer of the Olympic freestyle triple at Mexico City 1968.

There was another global mark on April 30, too: Gould's teammate Karen Moras set the 400m free World record at 4:22.6. The following year, Gould claim the 200m, 400m free and 200IM Olympic titles, plus medals in the 100m and 800m free, a five-solo-medal feat never repeated since. The 400m victory made Gould the first woman ever to race inside 4:20. She also held the 100-to-1500m free global standards simultaneously.

Moras took down the last 400m free standard that had stood to Meyer (holder of all six marks set between 1967 and 1970). The day after, May 1, Gould took down the 200m free world record that had stood to Meyer. That left the American with just one World record: her 800 standard had fallen to Moras in 1970, while fellow American Cathy Calhoun would take Meyer's 1500m mark in August 1971.

Meanwhile, some threads of swimming history are soaked in sorrow. This past week in history, on April 27, Nancy Garapick, of Canada, set a World 200m backstroke record of 2:16.33. It was 1975, and a year later she would claim Olympic bronzes medals in the 100 and 200m backstroke finals at a home Olympics in Montreal as the first swimmer home whose performance had not been enhanced with doping. Tragically, Garapick passed away recently, without the IOC or swimming authorities ever having acknowledged her true status and achievement because they failed to acknowledge the devastating impact of the GDR's state-secret doping programme, and failed to reach for any form of truth and reconciliation process.

The above stories form part of our developing SOS Hall of Fame:

SOS Carlile Cup For Lifetime Achievement To Dr. Shane Gould

The Carlile Cup is State of Swimming’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which from this year we will extend to more than one recipient to reflect the key realms Forbes & Ursula Carlile were passionate about: coaching; athletes; lifetime learning; and governance. First up, a great pupil of theirs

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

FORUM: A Review Of ‘Reform’; & My Day Out In London, 1971, When Gould Matched Fraser & Moras Passed Meyer

Is the reform process on track & how’s the Integrity Unit going? We start the trawl; Timeline - WR’s set this week throughout history - what I saw when I was 8 on a day out in London; & the AAU joins our list of candidates for the History of Swimming in 100 Objects and Organisations

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Dawn Fraser - The Balmain Bullet Who Changed The Olympic Game In Women’s Sprinting

There are some swimmers in history whose achievements and the tale that goes with them are unparalleled. Dawn Fraser is queen among them.

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Nancy Garapick Passes At 64 Without The IOC Or World Aquatics Having Recognised Her Golden Career

RIP Nancy Garapick, first home with head held high in two Olympic finals at a home Olympics in 1976…

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

World Records In Our Late April Timeline:

The Timeline in full, day by day throughout the year: