Banned swim star Shayna Jack breaks down in television interview
In her first interview since testing positive in July, banned Australian swimmer Shayna Jack claims a prohibited steroid may have found its way into her blood via kissing.
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Banned Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has broken down in her first television interview since testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs saying illicit substances have previously been detected in athletes without them taking it.
The 21-year-old swim star, who tested positive for the powerful banned steroid Ligandrol at a pre-World Championship warm-up meet in July, says she believes it’s possible the drug may have found its way into her bloodstream without her knowledge.
Jack is banned from competition while awaiting the outcome of an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation into her positive test.
Speaking with Lisa Wilkinson on Channel 10’s The Sunday Project in an interview to air tonight, Jack cites a case of another top-level athlete who tested positive for cocaine despite not having taken it.
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She also claims she has since been approached by others who claimed to have also taken Ligandrol as part of regular gym recovery.
“I had a lot of people come forward and say they were taking this drug. People who go to the gym. Some people were using it as recovery … they took it as a drop,” Jack tells Wilkinson.
“There was a case in the past called the ‘kiss cocaine case’ where someone had taken cocaine and then the partner, who was an athlete, kissed that person and they were contaminated because they had contact with something someone else had taken.
“I was told that anything I had come in contact with during that period could have been the risk of contamination.”
It’s believed Jack was referring to the case of Canadian pole vaulter Shawn Barber, who tested positive for cocaine in 2016 but avoided a ban after claiming he ingested the drug via kissing.
Jack, from Brisbane, faces what would be a potentially career-ending four-year ban from swimming if ASADA rules against her.
While the verdict is not expected until early next year, Jack maintains her innocence and tells The Sunday Project one of the worst aspects of her highly-publicised case has been the financial impact.
“I’m 21 years old and I’m paying for a lawyer, a barrister, testing fees,” she says in the interview. “It’s more than any 21-year-old would have. It’s more than what my parents could pay, with them having a house mortgage. I didn’t want them to have that, so I have taken all of the hit.”
Jack also claims to have suffered emotionally due to “relentless” social media bullying, however she has found support in her family, friends and hockey-playing partner Joel Rintala.
“My partner has been absolutely amazing. He has to deal with me every night. Sometimes I just can’t sleep because I need to cry and let it all out, and he just holds me,” she said.
“Recently, I had one of those days and the one thing he did was just bring my dog, Hugo, in. That dog made a big difference in my life. My dog wouldn’t judge me. He knows when I’m upset. When I’m crying, he just literally puts his head on my shoulder. Animals just calm me.”
Jack also reveals that to help pass the time as she awaits the ASADA verdict she has been volunteering her time at the RSPCA.
Originally published as Banned swim star Shayna Jack breaks down in television interview