The heartbreak of missing Tokyo replaced with redemption for Shayna Jack as she qualifies for Paris

The 200m freestyle offered plenty of chances to qualify for Paris, and with relay spots up for grabs, Shayna Jack ended a journey filled with despair with a place on the plane.

Shayna Jack in the women's 200 Metre Freestyle heats at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Five years after her world was rocked by a doping offence she maintains she was innocent of, Shayna Jack finally has her redemption.

As Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan waged an epic battle at the head of the 200m freestyle race, many eyes were scanning the next four athletes home as they fought for a spot on the relay team which is among the biggest favourites for Olympic gold in Paris.

And right in among them was Jack, touching the wall in equal fifth place in 1:56.22 with teammate Jamie Perkins.

She had secured her ticket to Paris after there were times when she feared it may never happen.

“There was probably a point where I thought I didn’t want to be an Olympian anymore, whether I’d given up on that dream,” Jack said.

“But I didn’t and I know that my family, friends and my partner are really proud of me no matter what happened tonight and moving forward for the rest of this week is about me and what I wanted to achieve since I was a young girl.”

As her eyes turned to the scoreboard, the relief was immediately noticeable. Then the elation as she realised her St Peters Western teammates had also qualified for the team including a world record to Titmus.

Ariarne Titmus is congratulated by Shayna Jack after the former broke the world record. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Every swimmer who gets picked for the Olympics always has a story to tell but few as heartbreaking as Jack.

Unable to even try and qualify for Tokyo as she fought her doping ban through the Court of Arbitration of Sport, she watched her Aussie teammates scooping up gold medals in Japan that she could have been a part of.

After getting a two-year reduction to her suspension, Jack has been a regular member of the Australian team at world championships and Commonwealth Games since, but not the Olympics.

“I definitely came into this with a mindset of, I really want to enjoy the journey,” she said.

“I really don’t want to go through a phase where I don’t love the sport anymore.

“So I really wanted to come into this enjoying the journey, remembering that no matter what I’ve done, I’ve put myself out there, gave it my all, and basically come away proud of myself no matter what.”

Jack’s Paris program is not yet complete. On Friday she will contest the 100m freestyle heats and on Saturday it is the 50m freestyle heats.

Both those events she is a genuine chance to secure an individual swim and almost certainly another start in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays.

Her redemption story still has more chapters to write.

“I was lucky enough last year to be part of that 4x200m relay that did break the world record,” Jack said.

Originally published as The heartbreak of missing Tokyo replaced with redemption for Shayna Jack as she qualifies for Paris