Aussie swimmer Shayna Jack targeted by drug testers days after being cleared to return as SIA slammed

Hours after being cleared to return to swimming, Shayna Jack was doorknocked by drug testers. And a district court judge says she is being treated like a test case.

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack was doorknocked by drug testers at 11pm – only 72 hours after finally being cleared to return to competitive racing.

The late-night test by doping officials is another example of the two-year “prosecutorial pursuit” of Jack, according to respected NSW district court judge Paul Conlon.

Conlon doubled-down by claiming Jack was treated as a “test case” by government agency, Sport Integrity Australia.

He added that “a clean out at the very top” of SIA was required over the entire handling of the saga.

Jack’s urine sample at her home, believed to be by the International Testing Agency, came just days after declaring her “nightmare is over” with the formal clearance to return to swimming on Friday, September 17.

Jack was initially banned for four years after testing positive to Ligandrol on June 26, 2019, almost three weeks before the world swim titles in South Korea.

Shayna Jack was door knocked by drug testers days after being cleared.

The Queenslander then appealed her ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which reduced her suspension to two years, finding Jack did not knowingly ingest the substance.

But SIA appealed that reduction, citing a need for clarity regarding anti-doping legal principles.

CAS subsequently rejected the SIA appeal, freeing Jack to return to the sport.

Conlon, dubbed ‘Judge Dread’ by the media after locking-up vile paedophiles for decades, has acted as a confidant and key advisor throughout Jack’s two-year ordeal.

His intimate knowledge of the case has led him to point the spotlight at SIA by stating “fairness is simply a foreign concept to these people”.

“In November 2020, the Arbitrator Alan Sullivan QC found that Shayna had proved to the requisite degree that the violation was unintentional and therefore in accordance with the WADA code, reduced the disqualification from four years to two years,’’ Conlon said.

“During the course of the hearing, there was expert evidence that the concentration of the prohibited substance was ‘pharmacologically irrelevant’.

“Indeed, those representing SIA accepted that there was no direct evidence that Shayna had intentionally ingested the substance to enhance performance, agreed that the level of the banned substance was low and there was no evidence of any long term usage.

“The punishment Shayna received was substantial. It meant that her hopes and dreams of representing Australia at the Tokyo Olympics were taken away.

Swimmer Shayna Jack. Picture: Instagram

“And yet, they appeal. SIA and WADA were seeking a penalty of four years - the same punishment as for an intentional drug cheat.

“That of course carried with it the real possibility of destroying this young woman’s sporting career.

“Fair minded people would naturally be concerned about that and ask why?

“In the appeal before the International Arbitration for Sport, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and SIA were seeking a determination that the code required that in circumstances where the athlete was unable to prove how it got into his or her body, then they cannot receive a reduction from the automatic four years.

“It’s difficult to imagine a more draconian construction.

“Travis Tygart (CEO of the United States Anti Doping Authority (USADA) is widely regarded as a world authority when it comes to doping in sport and he is acutely aware of the advances in science and the ability to detect minuscule quantities of prohibited substances due to modern analysis techniques.

“Last year, he said, ‘Blanket bans for otherwise clean athletes who find themselves returning inadvertent low-level positives’ should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, not a ‘gotcha’ style of policing that hands out hardline sanctions more suitable for systemic doping.

“Unfortunately, there is no Travis Tygart heading our taxpayer funded organisation (SIA).

“If there had been, we would not have seen the prosecutorial pursuit of this young woman.

“Over the last 12 months Shayna has revealed a courageous and determined young woman, but one who has suffered emotionally, mentally and financially.

“However, she has not been broken. She would like to think that changes can take place so that other athletes are not put through a similar ordeal.

“For that to occur we would need our politicians to understand and appreciate that a clean-out is required starting from the top.’’

In response to testing Jack’s case with CAS, a SIA statement read: “It was never about an individual athlete but the only way to seek that clarity is to appeal.”