Earlier this month Australian swimmer Shayna Jack saw the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduce her original 4-year suspension down to 2 years, resulting in her being able to join her Dolphins teammates in July of 2021.
Although the ban reduction for Jack’s positive result for Ligandrol revealed during the 2019 World Championships staging camp points to unintentional ingestion on the part of the freestyle ace, the time frame still renders the 22-year-old out of the postponed 2020 Olympic Games.
You can read more about Jack’s CAS result here.
Speaking to the media since the decision, Jack has offered up several explanations as to how the illegal steroid inadvertently entered her body. She told CAS that her supplements might have been contaminated during the manufacturing process, a situation not unlike that of American swimmer Madisyn Cox.
Jack also suggested that a blender used by her partner or brother could have been contaminated with Ligandrol, or that she might have come into contact with the substance while using a public pool or gym, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
The freestyle ace has said she will continue her swimming career. As such, the next big international competition at which she would be able to potentially represent Australia is the 2022 FINA World Aquatic Championships.
Why is there no discussion or identification in the arbitral ruling as to what (possibly contaminated) supplements Shayna J was actually taking? She apparently testified that she did not want this type of positive test to happen to anyone else, but the non-disclosure of that information does not lead to that goal. Also, why was Swimming Australia only a “passive” participant at the arbitration? Is it possible that Shayna J was provided the supplement in question either individually or programatically by a Swimming AUS staffer at its 2019 World Championships camp or by a coach/teammate/staffer from her St. Peters Western club team (which she had only fairly recently joined)?
Anyone know what the amount found was?
The celebrations and out pouring of support from Jack’s fellow dolphins has been as extraordinary as the sleek media campaign to get her off. Her own social media overflowing with new sponsors just adds to the craziness. Jack had ligandrol in her system, fact. It got there either deliberately, accidentally or through sheer stupidity and as she says we’ll never know and CAS believed her. I hope SIA appeal. Not everyone will be in a position to afford (or will be attractive enough) to warrant a slick doe eye fronted media campaign nor will they have men in their lives happy to have the finger pointed their way. Crazy decision given the high profile media involvement imo.
Is Russell’s… Read more »
All the media trying to paint her as an innocent victim are just crazy. She can’t explain why the substance entered her body, and she was BANNED FOR 2 YEARS. How does this prove innocence?
I always like to give athletes some benefits of doubt, but after all the lies and misleading information she was giving to the public, I don’t trust her anymore.
Jack’s Dolphins team mates & SAL appointed media know her inside out apparently …
I have thoroughly enjoyed supporting the Campbell sisters over the years, they are gorgeous – but no more, they have lost me on their unequivocal support for Jack.
How on earth could the Campbell sisters provide character witness statements for someone they spent perhaps 4hrs a day with over a limited period? You really do not get to ’know’ people’ in such a short albeit intense period of time.
Shayna Jack Has Doping Ban Reduced, But Will Miss Tokyo Games; Sisters in Sport Offering Support
https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/shayna-jack-has-doping-ban-reduced-but-will-miss-tokyo-games-sisters-in-sport-
offering-support/
The entire CAS arbitration ruling can be found on the CAS website at http://www.tas-cas.org
The points that are interesting, in addition to Shayna Jack’s potential explanations, are:
- The arbitrator was an Australian lawyer selected by Shayna Jack.
- The arbitrator said Shayna Jack undertook “reasonable” efforts to determine the ligandrol source, but she did not do everything possible to try to determine the source.
- Shayna Jack testified that her “gut” feeling is that the partner/brothers’ possibly contaminated blender(s) were not the source of the ligandrol.
- The Australian arbitrator credited testimony from S. Jack, Bronte Campbell and Cate Campbell, and two coaches (Coach McGregor and Coach Boxall) as to S. Jack’s character which essentially boiled
… Read more »If the suspect was her supplements I don’t understand why she hadn’t done tests to prove it
The suspect is whatever BS she can make up to get the suspension reduced, since the burden is on FINA to prove that she knew she cheated.
Or that she cheated and was caught.
I don’t know what to believe with this case anymore..
It’s the Donald Trump media strategy. Buy the loyalty of some portion of the media (Ian Hanson at Swimming World Magazine), just keep making stuff up, and eventually everyone gets so wound up in the lies that they forget the truth and just vaguely remember “oh yeah I don’t remember exactly what happened but there was something with a kiss and a blender but it was definitely accidental.”
Or the Biden strategy where you would lie but legitimately don’t remember.
Or the Clinton approach: lie long and loud until you are busted beyond a shadow of a doubt, and then apologize or call it “old news.”
I guess the water excuse was already taken