Olympic year arrives to the count of leap year and that extra day - the 29th - is rare both in the calendar and as a day for world records. Just four have fallen in the four-year February gaps, and the first one to do so marked the last stand of Dawn Fraser.

The Australian legend clocked 58.9 in 1964, the year in which she claimed that record Olympic triple over 100m freestyle in Tokyo before men of little foresight felt it appropriate to bring the career of an all-time great to a premature end.

Fraser holds the record for world records set in February: eight standards over 100 and 200m were rewritten at the touch of her hand in the second month of the year between her first world record of 1:04.5 over 100m freestyle in 1956, to that last one on the 29th in 1964.

The other marks to fall on a rare day were: Stephen Holland (AUS) in 8:02.91 over 800m freestyle in 1976; Antje Stille (GDR) in 2:14.41 over 200m backstroke in 1976; and Ian Crocker (USA), in 23.30 over 50m butterfly in 2004. For insight into a fine mind, read Ian's blog.

The timing of the northern-hemisphere summer long-course season has ensured that July and August account for the majority of world records over the years, and that February is a month dominated by new standards set by Australians.

If the second month of the year has proved auspicious for sprinters - in common with Fraser, American Johnny Weissmuller's last stand, of 57.4 over 100m in Miami in 1924 was a first in February - then distance freestylers have also enjoyed some of the speediest moments in history at the end of the Australian summer: no fewer than 10 world records have fallen among men over 800 and 1,500m, to John Konrads, Holland (4), and Kieren Perkins, while Vladimir Salnikov (RUS) also liked to show his hand that month. Among women, Tracey Wickham set four new standards over 400, 800 and 1,500m in February, her 4:09.39 the first legitimate sub 4:10 effort over eight laps, given the nature of the fuel behind Petra Thumer's 4:09.89 in Montreal, 1976, for the GDR.

Among other February milestones is the first sub-17-minute effort by a woman over 1,500m, Shane Gould setting the final world record of her career in 16:56.90 in Adelaide in 1973. In 1963, Satoko Tanaka (JPN) established two world records over 200m backstroke in February, in a run of eight successive global standards at a distance which, sadly for the Olympic 100m bronze medal winner at home in 1964, did not join the Olympic programme until 1968, by which time she had retired.

In more recent times, two of those among the bigger certainties for gold in Beijing this summer, Michael Phelps (USA) and Leisel Jones (AUS) have enjoyed a special turn of speed in February. Phelps clocked 1:53.71 over 200m butterfly last year as a warm-up for the knockout blow of 1:52.09 at Melbourne 2007; and Jones set the 100 and 200m breaststroke standards of 1:05.71, the fist sub 1:06 effort, and 2:20.54, in 2006. The four lap blast still stands, while the sprint was treated to a lethal blow of Leisel's axe six weeks later, in 1:05.09 at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

No sign of any meets that look likely to the fun of February as yet - but you never know.