Why swimmer Shayna Jack didn’t come clean to teammates over positive drug test in Cairns
Suspended Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has opened up about why she chose not to immediately inform fellow teammates that she’d tested positive to a banned substance.
The 20 year-old was selected for a random drug test during a training camp in Cairns on June 26th.
SEE VIDEO BELOW OF SHAYNA JACK BEING INTERVIEWED AT TOBRUK POOL IN CAIRNS
A fortnight later, the result came back positive and she was sent home from Japan, where the team was now in a staging camp ahead of the World Championships in South Korea.
Her teammates were told she’d left for ‘personal reasons.’
In a statement, Jack said she’d wanted to tell them what had happened but chose not to because she didn’t want to distract them.
“I respect my teammates and my sport too much to take away their moment, so I went home and said nothing,” she said.
“I haven’t slept much since and I feel a sense of emptiness.”
Jack’s statement follows criticism of Swimming Australia and ASADA for a lack of transparency about the positive result, which occurred more than two weeks before fellow Australian swimmer Mack Horton staged a very public anti-drug protest against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang during the World Championships.
Swimming Australia has defended itself, saying protocols set by ASADA prevent it from speaking about such matters until either ASADA or the athlete goes public.
The banned substance is called Ligandrol, which aids in the growth of muscle mass.
The Queensland swimmer says she doesn’t know how it entered her body, but noted that it has been previously found in contaminated supplements.
“The day I found out was the day I began to fight to prove my innocence,” Ms Jack said.
“Myself, along with my lawyer, management team, doctor and family have been working continuously to not only prove my innocence but to try to find out how this substance has come into contact with me, to ensure it doesn’t happen to anyone else as I wouldn’t wish this experience on my worst enemy.”
