Shayna Jack’s positive test has left the sport of swimming reeling
The handling of the Shayna Jack positive drugs test has been a disaster from the start and left a sport in the middle of a crisis of its own making, writes Jessica Halloran.
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- Scary reason ASADA suppressed Jack test
- Swimming Australia dopes must pay price
- SA CEO: Jack to blame for doping failure
Swimmer Shayna Jack will front ASADA this Friday. There she will find out the amount of levels of Ligandrol was found in her system for the first time.
Meanwhile swimming remains in crisis.
The secrets, lies and excuses around Jack’s exit from the world championships has brutalised the image of the much-loved sport.
While Swimming Australia boss Leigh Russell and her team have followed their current policy regarding positive drugs tests to the absolute letter - it has cost them dearly publicly.
That policy – which strictly keeps an athlete’s identity private upon testing positive to a banned substance – was implemented back in September 2015 by the previous Swimming Australia administration who formed the agreement with ASADA.
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She’s not a drug taker, she’s no cheat
The “confidentiality undertaking” prohibited Swimming Australia from comment.
Following this scandal that policy surely now must be binned.
Athletes that test positive to drugs shouldn’t be afforded anonymity.
When you put on the Australian team tracksuit and swim for the country, you need to be transparent, accountable and own issues.
Testing positive to drugs shouldn’t be a private thing.
The public has the right to know that our swimmers are clean…or dirty.
Last year the Federal Government gave swimming high performance funding to the tune of over of $13 million. In total Government funding came to $17 million when taking in Paralympic and participation funding over the 2018/2019 financial year.
The poor handling of the incident on pool deck in Korea – after it was revealed late Saturday afternoon – must now also come under scrutiny.
There has been a culture of Australian swimmers facing the storm front of any major scandal or disappointment.
When it should have been Australia’s head coach Jacco Verhaeren or Jack’s coach Dean Boxall facing up to the media – it was left to brilliant leader, swimmer Cate Campbell, to front up first.
Although Campbell spoke with her usual class and intelligence about the issue - and it must be said she told Swimming Australia officials she was comfortable to do so - it still should not have been her facing the media first.
It is understood Russell will consult athletes, Sport Australia and other sport organisations to have a broader conversation around the handling of issues like Jack.
Will the policy change in the future? It is naturally up for review within the next year anyway.
Friday will determine the next move for Jack – what she will plea. She has pointed to a tainted supplement as a possible cause for the positive test.
If it is a supplement that has possibly destroyed her swimming career, a bigger conversation must be had in the sport around using them.
Swimming Australia should consider advising athletes not to use them.
Why not?
I interviewed Olympic champion Sally Pearson a few years back about supplements. Her advice on supplements? Just don’t take them. She doesn’t and has become a world champion.
Pearson has won gold medals without them. She said “fruit and vegetables” are enough to get her by.
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old’s life has hit an incredibly low and troubling ebb. Her Swimming Australia payments have been stopped and she can no longer train with her teammates.
Jack has access welfare support from Swimming Australia, Australia Institute of Sport and ASADA.
Swimming is a brutal sport, athletes train their heart out for very little money, some even lose money by competing, but it is still a privilege to represent this country and it should be done cleanly.
There is nothing clearer than that and we deserve to know what is going on.
WADA is not stopping Swimming Australia from making a positive drug test points out former ASADA CEO Richards Ings.
Ings says that tennis and athletics policy is make provisional suspensions for testing positive public immediately.
“The reality in this modern day is when famous athletes disappear from competition people ask questions,” Ings said.
“A policy of secrecy requires the sport and an athlete to mislead the public.
“Therefore any such policy is untenable.”
Originally published as Shayna Jack’s positive test has left the sport of swimming reeling
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