Australian Olympic swimmer Shayna Jack has opened up on her fight to clear her name and claimed her doping ban had ‘completely stripped her of her humanity’.
The Australian swimmer had been handed a four-year suspension in 2019 after the 26-year-old tested positive for muscle-building drug Ligandrol on June 26, 2019.
Jack has vehemently denied she took the substance intentionally and in 2021, successfully appealed the ban in 2021, proving that her test result was due to contamination.
Her initial four-year ban was reduced to two in 2020, allowing her to begin competing again straight away, but it would cost her a place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had sought to contest the appeal claiming clarity was needed regarding anti-doping legal principles, but their case was thrown out by CAS.
Two-time Aussie Olympic gold medallist Shayna Jack has opened up on her doping case
Jack (left) has opened up on how the case against her had left her feeling ‘completely stripped her of her humanity’
The 26-year-old was cleared in 2020 after she had been given a four year ban for taking a prohibited substance
‘When I started talking about what I was going through in 2019, I probably couldn’t get two words together without struggling to talk,’ Jack said during an interview with Australian Story on ABC.
‘I was angry. I was upset. I couldn’t believe the things I went through. Now I’m sitting here with an Olympic gold medal in front of me. It’s something I don’t think I have comprehended yet.’
Jack would return to the sport in 2022 and would pull off a sensational comeback, becoming a double Olympic champion.
Delving into the ordeal of attempting to clear her name, Jack admitted that she came close to giving up on swimming entirely and lashed out at WADA for how they dealt with the case.
‘The way they went about it completely stripped me of my humanity,’ Jack tells Australian Story.
‘No matter what I said or did or how much I proved, no matter how much money I threw at testing, [anti-doping organisations] just wanted to prove that I was a drug cheat. It was a horrible process. It’s been three years and I still struggle with it.’
Pharmacists refer to Ligandrol as a selective androgen receptor modulator – a drug that binds to areas of a person’s skeletal muscles and have a general effect to increase and repair the growth of a person’s muscles – similarly to how anabolic steroids work.
The documentary revealed the lengths that Jack went to to understand how the substance had entered her system.
Her coach, Dean Boxall, commended Jack for her resilience but claimed ‘it was absolutely criminal what happened to her’
Jack had tested positive for Ligandrol in 2019, a drug that increases and repairs the growth of a person’s muscles
She tested all her supplements as well as those of her brother and partner – who are also athletes. She went as far as investigating things including her nail polish and teeth whitener.
Lawyer Tim Fuller said that none of those tests came back positive for the substance.
Her coach, Dean Boxall, lauded the swimming star for her resilience during the programme. But he too hit out on the way the case was handled.
‘It’s criminal. It is absolutely criminal what happened to her,’ Boxall told ABC.
‘And no one’s accountable. If you do take drugs and you’re caught to be cheating, you should be banned for life.
‘But there [are] instances where it’s got nothing to do with cheating — like touching a weight, you can be contaminated with your hands. It’s just crazy.’
Jack claimed that she was ‘ostracised’ from the swimming community. She spoke of how she was forced to train and swim alone as she attempted to keep fit during her ban.
With Jack being cleared of intentionally taking the substance, WADA and the SIA have defended their stance on the incident, denying that their action against Jack was ‘unjust’.
Jack was pictured last week at Flemington enjoying the festivities at the Melbourne Cup
During the interview, the swimmer revealed that winning a gold medal in Paris felt like a weight had been lifted from ehr shoulders
Jack, though, is not taking anything for granted and it seems like Paris is just the start
In a statement issued to ABC, they said their system: ‘Strikes a just balance between upholding the principles of fair sport while providing ample opportunity for those who have been accused of wrongdoing to defend themselves and demonstrate their innocence.’
Jack, though, is not taking anything for granted and it seems like Paris is just the start.
‘I definitely have that motivation to come back in four years’ time,’ Jack said after Paris.
‘This is just the start for me. This is my redemption chapter and hopefully there’s more to come and there’s more of a story to tell.
‘I’m also human and I think for me, I want to enjoy this moment and not think too far ahead. Because you can get caught up in that sometimes.
‘I just didn’t think I would ever be here, let alone swimming again. I didn’t know if I would fall in love with the sport again and I’m trying to say I am in love with the sport and I love racing and I love being a part of something that’s more than just about me.
‘I got a bit emotional because I’ve worked so hard to be here and I’m just really proud of everything I’ve achieved personally and part of this team this week so you know, it is sad to be saying goodbye to it.
‘But I look forward to reflecting and being proud of how far I’ve come.’
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