Shayna Jack gets green light from Swimming Australia after doping ban cut

Swimming Australia has announced the timeline for Jack’s return to the pool after her doping ban was cut in half.

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack. Source: instagram

Swimming Australia confirmed today that Shayna Jack would be free to return to the sport at the end of her two-year drugs suspension, in July next year.

The Court of Arbitration this week found that, on the balance of probabilities, Jack did not intentionally ingest the drug, ligandrol, and considered that she had discharged her onus of proving that her anti-doping violation was not intention.

(But because she was unable to prove how the drug got into her system, a two-year ban – reduced from her original punishment of four years – was still imposed.)

Shayna Jack arrives for a briefing with ASADA in August last year. Picture: AAP

“The approach to anti-doping is deliberately strong and needs to be – to protect the athletes and more broadly, the sport,” the statement read. “We have a zero tolerance approach to doping and always will – this is our responsibility. However, this does not mean that we cannot demonstrate care and empathy for young people who are part of our community, who are thrust into a complex system that can be overwhelming, often confusing and confronting.

“It must not be forgotten that athletes have rights in the anti-doping system, one of these rights is confidentiality. It is unacceptable for the privacy of athletes to be compromised or for their wellbeing to be impacted as a result.

“Shayna is a young and driven athlete, and we hope the outcome of the hearing enables her to move forward after a difficult period for her and her family.

“Swimming Australia will continue to offer Shayna support and she will be free to return to the sport at the conclusion of her sanction which is July 12, 2021.”

But with the delayed Tokyo Olympics now rescheduled to start on July 21, it means that she will have no chance of competing for Australia in the pool.

The 22-year-old’s next chance of swimming at the Olympics will not be until Paris in 2024.