Director sets February 2009 deadline for crunch meeting and reports that will help to swimming get to grips with the technological race to find the "fastest" suit that is fast getting out of control; FINA lawyers working on possible reworking of rules

At Berlin round of the Arena World Cup, Paul Biedermann of Germany outpaces the Thorpedo over 200m freestyle in 1:40.83; Randall Bal and Peter Marshall break 23sec on backstroke; Guehrer clocks 24.99 50 'fly; Korotyshkin sets ER of 49.74 in 100 'fly

And the records keep falling in a year that saw technology take swimming into a new era of speed, one that has seen FINA, the governing body, and its rule book lose their grip on control of the sport

American blasts short-course global standard at Berlin round of the Arena World Cup and then says: 'The plan was to be done ... but now I'm reconsidering"; Mellouli challenges Hackett 400m pace; Bernard says 'I'm the boss'

First day of Minnesota Grand Prix in the US

Italian suit maker fights back in technological race by adding two of the biggest names in the sport to the shoal that will help make a suit fit to swim past the rival LZR

On her website, Manaudou announces in a video: "I will start to prepare for the French long-course championships in April in Montpellier for selection to the world championships...I will not race this short-course season"

Peter Marshall (USA) sets 23.05sec 50m back standard (Bal just 0.02sec adrift) and Therese Alshammar gives Swedish hosts a boost at Arena World Cup with 25.32 global mark in 50m butterfly

Reports from Stockholm suggest that a video replay system with tens of tiny underway cameras monitoring every inch of races is it for purpose; FINA need no longer sit on its hands

More than 30kg of weight have been shed from Skippy's post-retirement bulk in readiness to take on the 50m and 100m butterfly in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India

Peter Marshall (USA) clocks 49.94 in 100m back and Cameron Van der Burgh sets third world short-course record in four days at the Swedish round of the Arena World Cup

USA Swimming Hosts Splash Learn-to-Swim New York Day with partners

Germany's top swimmers have lambasted the DSV, the German federation, for failing to communicate with athletes and for issuing threats when criticism is levelled at the blazers who run the boardroom

The Olympic 100m breaststroke champion will not defend her world titles next year - but she insists that her decision will not lead to retirement just yet, while the break from top flight events may even prolong her career until London 2012

Australian swimming has lost one of its greatest coaches with the death of the man Kieren Perkins called Mr Carew. He was 81.

The first African man to break a world breaststroke now has two global standards to his name; Russian women breaststrokers make a breakthrough

The quartet of Randall Bal (USA, 23.98), Vladimir Polyakov (KAZ, 26.37), Milorad Cavic (SRB, 22.76) and Nick Brunelli (USA, 21.46) clocked 1.34.57, third-best ever in the 4x50m medley, in Bolzano

FINA has opted to dive deeper into the mire on fast swim suits by approving a garment called The Rocket Skin, which boasts properties that clearly make the apparel a performance-enhancing device

The Fédération Française de Natation met the Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille today to chew over why the club's top swimmers have chosen to race at Saint-Dizier rather than represent France at the Berlin round of the World Cup

Today will see Kirsty Kettles begin a new life - as the wife of David Kettles and as the former swimmer Kirsty Balfour (GBR), European champion and winner of World and Commonwealth silver medals