Shayna Jack doping case: worrying signs after Hiromasa Fujimori ban
Aussie swimmer Shayna Jack has been dealt a worrying reminder of the challenges she faces trying to clear her name this week – and not because of the hefty Sun Yang punishment.
Swimming
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In a landmark ruling that should alarm Shayna Jack, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has delivered another powerful message to swimmers about the stiff penalties they face when they can’t explain how banned drugs got into their system.
The Aussie star is fighting to clear her name and resume her swimming career after testing positive to Ligandrol – a prohibited substance that increases muscle mass – before last year’s world championships.
Jack insists she did not take the banned substance knowingly so it could have only got into her body through cross-contamination.
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But in all her public statements, Jack hasn’t been able to identify the source of the contamination, which legal experts warn won’t help her defence when her case is finally heard.
Following in the slipstream of the eight-year ban handed down to disgraced Chinese cheat Sun Yang, the verdict from the CAS on a similar case involving Japanese swimmer Hiromasa Fujimori is a stark reminder of the challenge she faces.
Placed fourth in the men’s 200m individual medley at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Fujimori won’t be allowed to compete at Tokyo this year after the CAS upheld the two-year ban he received from FINA.
Fujimori tested positive for the banned stimulant Methylephedrine during the 2018 shortcourse world championships in China, which he claimed was caused by eating contaminated rice balls but just couldn’t prove.
“The CAS arbitrator in charge of this matter concluded that Hiromasa Fujimori had failed to establish a plausible source to the presence of the prohibited substance in his sample and, accordingly, could not benefit from any reduction in the sanction imposed,” the CAS verdict said.
Under the current rules, Jack faces a four-year ban if she can’t prove where the Ligandrol traces came from though under new rules which come into place next year, when the updated version of the WADA Code kicks in, she could get a reduction.
Under the new version of the code, athletes who can prove they were not negligent could get as little as a reprimand and a maximum of two years, while even athletes who can’t prove where the contamination came could also get a reduction if their sample levels are low.
Sun could also appeal for a reduction to his career-ending ban for tampering when the new code into effect though even if he succeeds, it’s unlikely the 28-year-old will swim again.
The revelations about the triple Olympic champion’s bullying has shocked even his most loyal supporters after the release of the full verdict from the CAS, which exposed his lies and feeble attempts to shift the blame to the drug testers who were just carrying out the jobs but are now in hiding about complaining being intimidated by Sun and his mother.
Sun’s Australian coach Denis Cotterill has now cut all ties while Mack Horton has been flooded with heartfelt apologies from Chinese citizens who have only just learnt the truth about their fallen idol.
Under the new rules for tampering, as a second-time anti-doping offender, Sun’s ban could be cut to a minimum of four years but only if can establish there were “exceptional circumstances.”
As exclusively revealed by News Corp Australia last week, anti-doping officials say his best chances of getting a reduction is to turn whistleblower and reveal any information he might have that leads to charges being laid against anyone else for anti-doping or criminal activities.
Under those new rules, which include provisions for protection for whistleblowers, his ban could be reduced to a minimum of two years, which would rule him out of the Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 world championships.