Suspended Australian swimmer Shayna Jack on dark days, mental health after positive drugs test

Suspended swimmer Shayna Jack has opened up on her mental health battles, admitting to dark days after her positive drug test.

Suspended Australian swim star Shayna Jack has broken her silence on how she is handling the pressure of the ASADA drug probe hanging over her head after she tested positive to banned substance Ligandrol during an Australian swim camp ahead of the World Championships in South Korea.

And it appears not well.

The 20-year-old, who is facing a maximum four-year ban if found guilty took, to Instagram on Tuesday evening to give supporters an update and revealed that at times she “couldn’t stop crying”.

Shayna Jack has admitted to some dark days since her positive drug test.

Jack revealed she had been struggling with mental health issues and accepting that her career is on hold in the emotional post, that is the first statement from her since attending an ASADA hearing on Brisbane on August 2, when she vowed to “get myself back in the pool”.

“I have been taking time to ensure my mental health is properly supported and managed, as this whole process has been a test on its strength,” Jack wrote on Instagram.
“I’d like to thank the people who have, from day one, been by my side and supported me without a doubt.

“Although he can’t talk I am so grateful my boy Hugo (her dog) entered my life during this time to give me unconditional love and cuddles when I couldn’t stop crying.

“I have found that I am struggling most with accepting the current situation, how much it has not only impacted my swimming career but my everyday life.”

Jack went on to say she is frustrated by the lengthy process before her and that it could take up to nine months until a hearing is finalised.

“I have not yet received the letter of infraction and have been told that I won’t for up to another 10 weeks and to make things harder I’ve been informed that I could be waiting another 9 months from now till I get a finalised hearing, ”she wrote.

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“My team are doing everything they can to fast track this process but it’s so hard when we aren’t in control of how and when things happen.

“I made a promise to myself that I would never stop fighting for my dream as an Australian Dolphin or my character as I know I have, nor will I ever take a drug of any kind intentionally.”

Jack has denied knowingly taking the drug but faces an uphill battle to avoid serving the full ban, which could rule her out of the Olympics in 2020 and 2024.

Shayna Jack with the Dolphins squad in July.

Jack never denied that the drug was found in her system but instead questioned how it got there.

“We’re still looking into it but we are not going to leave any stone unturned,” she said in August.

The news of her positive drug test came after Australian Olympic gold medallist Mack Horton’s podium protest against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang at the world titles and couldn’t have come at a worse time for Australian swimming.