Swimming news: Shayna Jack fired up to target Paris Olympics after serving her two-year doping ban

A lot has happened domestically in Shayna Jack’s pet events during her absence, with the likes of Emma McKeon, Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris all now presenting huge obstacles.

Watching Australia’s swimmers clean up at the Tokyo Olympics has lit a fire underneath Shayna Jack.

Hungrier than ever, she has already set her sights on winning gold for Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics after finally being cleared to return to racing.

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that Jack did it tough during her two-year battle to clear her name after returning a positive doping sample before the 2019 world championships.

She has credited her family and friends for helping her get through the toughest times but of all the ups and downs she endured, it was the bittersweet moment of seeing her Dolphins teammates winning gold in Japan that has reinvigorated her motivation to get on the medal podium herself in Paris.

“There are no words to describe how that would feel,” she told News Corp.

Shayna Jack is aiming to return to competitive swimming in mid-December.

“But I know every time I stand on those blocks, I have had to fight for my right to be there so every moment will be that more special.”

With the Paris Olympics already less than three years away, the 22-year-old isn’t wasting any time getting back up to full speed, revealing that she has already decided to make her comeback to competitive racing in mid-December.

“My first competition will be Queensland States (championship), so my family and friends and partner can come support me,” she said.

Jack has been back training at Brisbane’s St Peters Western club since May 12, two months before her two-year suspension officially ended, but it was only this week that she was finally cleared to resume racing, when an appeal to have her ban doubled to four years was dismissed.

Shayna Jack has kept up her training in Brisbane.

Swimming Australia’s top coaches have been impressed that her training is already going better than expected after she kept herself in great physical shape but also know the biggest tests for her are yet to come.

Despite being one of Australia’s fastest and most promising freestyle sprinters, Jack faces a tough time just making a team that is jam-packed with star performers and has won the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay gold at each of the last three Olympics.

Emma McKeon, who won the individual 100m freestyle title at Tokyo, has already confirmed she wants to continue through to France while her senior teammates Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell and Madi Wilson are still weighing up whether they will join her.

Then there’s the next wave of stars who have already made a massive splash on the world stage, led by teenage sensations Mollie O’Callaghan and Meg Harris, meaning there’s not enough places for everyone to make the team.

The competition for spots over the next few years is likely to be hotter than ever but the early signs are encouraging for Jack.

“(Training) is going really well,” she said.

“We can see heaps of improvements right from the beginning.

“The best thing was I maintained my muscle over the period I was away from the pool so it’s definitely made a huge impact on assisting me upon my return.

“I’m definitely focusing on the world and Commonwealth Games selection. It would be a massive achievement if I was to get straight back on the Australian team.”

Shayna Jack will focus on selection for the world championships and Commonwealth Games when she returns to the pool. Picture: Delly Carr/Getty Images

With her best years still ahead of her, the 12-month postponement of Tokyo should work in Jack’s favour because it has created a logjam of major events before Paris with the next world championships, originally scheduled for 2021, now taking place in May 2022, just two months before the Commonwealth Games.

The trials for both of those events will be held just seven months from now, at the Gold Coast, with another world championship and trials pencilled in for 2023 before Paris.

“I think the road ahead really is like anyone else who wants to make the team,” Australian head coach Rohan Taylor told News Corp.

“She’s got talent, she’s determined, and we know that she’s quite resilient. I’ve got a lot of confidence that she can get back to where she was before.

“She’s in some very competitive events but that’s a high standard that she’s been to before and I think she’ll be in a good place physically to get there so it’s just a matter of her expectations.”