Shayna Jack upset with Swimming Australia over doping blame game

Reeling from being notified of the possibility of a four-year drug ban, Shayna Jack feels she has been let down by Australian swimming’s governing body.

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Shayna Jack is upset at the way Swimming Australia has tried to shift the blame onto her for not announcing the drug test failure that could cost her a four-year ban, with an insider revealing she wanted to go public but was pressured to keep quiet.

News Corp Australia understands Jack has been informed by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) that she’ll face an extensive ban, which is the standard punishment for drugs classified as anabolic agents, unless she can prove her innocence.

And the 20-year-old is reportedly devastated by the way Swimming Australia’s co-ordinated blitz to wash its hands of any responsibility has piled even more pain on her.

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Shayna Jack could be whacked for a four-year ban. Picture: Liam Kidston

An insider said on Tuesday Jack, who maintains her innocence, was prevented from saying goodbye to her teammates when she was told about the test results at training camp earlier this month and advised not to tell any of her friends.

She reportedly asked Swimming Australia’s senior bosses on several occasions if she could go public with the news, but was not told to speak up.

This version of events is a stark contrast to that portrayed by Swimming Australia.

Jack’s coach Dean Boxall at Brisbane International airport. Picture: AAP

And Jack’s disappointment at the sport’s bosses has increased after Swimming Australia chief Leigh Russell sent a letter to the swimmers and their parents in the Australian team, pointing the finger squarely at the sprinter.

“Shayna told us repeatedly that her number one concern was for her team,” Ms Russell wrote.

“It was Shayna’s decision when to speak on her matter and she told us that given the team was in competition mode at a benchmark event, her decision was to speak at the conclusion of the worlds, so that her teammates could fully focus on performance.

“She told us she wanted to announce the matter this week and was preparing to do so. She was not afforded that privacy or opportunity, and the news was broken to media last Saturday before she was able to appear before.”

Despite the possible four-year ban hanging over her head, there are several ways Jack, who won’t face anti-doping officials until Friday, can get a reduction. But the onus will be on her legal team to prove the drug got into her system without her knowledge, otherwise she will get the full penalty.

Her lawyers will argue the adverse samples were caused by contamination, but pleading ignorance will not help Jack’s case as she needs to identify the source of the positive test and prove she made an innocent mistake.

Former chief Richard Ings said a four-year ban, if imposed, was “standard­”.

Yoel Romero (R) lost to Robert Whittaker (L) last year. Picture: AFP

“You’ve got a positive A and positive B sample, and the process is you get a letter, you will be suspended, then you have the right to request a tribunal hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” Mr Ings said.

Jack has pointed to a possible contaminated supplement as the reason why she may have had Ligandrol in her system.

The Daily Telegraph spoke to an anti-doping expert who said a “contaminated supplement” was a very “real scenario” but Jack would need to show how it was corrupted.

Even if she can prove her supplement was contaminated, she will almost certainly still receive a suspension, though heavily reduced, because of zero tolerance policies. That means she will be registered with a doping conviction. The only way she can be completely cleared, is if she can prove she was the victim of sabotage and can also identify the culprit, who could face criminal charges.

Last month UFC fighter Yoel Romero received $27.45 million in a lawsuit versus Gold Star Performance Products after a New Jersey civil court determined that the company made a tainted supplement that caused him to fail a drug test and led to a six-month suspension from the USADA in April 2016.

Throughout the process, Romero has maintained that the New Jersey-based supplement company misrepresented ingredients of its Shred RX diuretic capsules, which failed to indicate that it contained the banned substance.

On Tuesday, Jack was backed by Swimming Australia head coach Jacco Verhaeren to save her career and her own coach Dean Boxall was also standing firmly behind her.

“She’s my swimmer and I believe in Shayna,” Boxall said.