Australian swim star Shayna Jack has failed a drug test, just one week after Mack Horton staged a protest against Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who was suspended for doping in 2014.
“It is with great sadness and heartache that I had to leave due to allegations of having a prohibited substance in my system,” Jack posted to her Instagram, confirming her drug-use.
“I did NOT take this substance knowingly,” the 20-year-old insisted. “Swimming has been my passion since I was 10 years old and I would never intentionally take a banned substance that would disrespect my sport and jeopardise my career.”
She continued: “Now there is an ongoing investigation and my team and I are doing everything we can to find out when and how this substance has come into contact with my body. I would appreciate if you respect my privacy as this is very hard for me to cope with.”
Mack Horton’s protest
The timing of Jack’s use of prohibited substance is all the more prominent with Australians being among the most vocal of those taking a public stance against a Chinese swimmer’s drug allegations this week.
When Mack Horton was awarded the silver medal at the World Championships in South Korea, he refused to stand beside 27-year-old Sun, a man he called a “drug cheat” after beating him at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
On top of this, Sun Yang is currently subject to ongoing accusations of doping violations that could see him banned from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Swimming Australia 'cover up'
Swimming Australia are being condemned by the public for not being honest from the start.
The sport's governing body is accused of trying to cover the news up, therefore leaving Australia vulnerable to global ridicule.
When the 100-metre freestyler announced her departure from the World Championships, she publicly cited "personal reasons". We now know that in fact Jack was unable to compete due to prohibited substances in her system.
"Once Swimming Australia was made aware of the adverse test result, it immediately took action — in accordance with the national policy — to provisionally suspend Shayna from the Australian swim team while a process was under way and accompanied her back to Australia from a training camp being held in Japan," Swimming Australia said in a statement.
They further stated: "Under the process, all details are required to remain confidential until ASADA has completed its investigations, the athlete is afforded due process and an outcome determined."
However Richard Ings, the former head of Australia's anti-doping authority ASADA, refuted Swimming Australia's claims.
"If Swimming Australia are suggesting that their anti-doping policy, approved by ASADA, forbids them from announcing the Jack provisional suspension, they are wrong," Ings tweeted.
"[Section] 14.3.1 permits Swimming Australia to go public."
Speaking to ABC, Ings further criticised Swimming Australia for their dealing of the prohibition.
"This is a reminder that these sort of allegations of positive drug tests can happen to any athlete, in any sport, in any country and not just in China," he told the public broadcaster.
"The public do notice and ultimately what was said by Shayna Jack and Swimming Australia weeks ago about vague personal reasons become transparent weeks later as a lie. The truth needs to be told at the beginning."
However it is important, he emphasised, that we give Jack the "presumption of innocence unless or until a tribunal finds otherwise".
Read more:
Mack Horton was furious so he launched a protest on the podium. Maybe he shouldn't have.
Top Comments
The feud between Mack Horton and Sun Yang got thoroughly out of hand. At the end of the day Sun Yang was competing because FINA said he could compete. If Mack or any other athlete had a problem with Sun competing, they needed to take it up with FINA. It is always easy with hindsight, but humiliating another athlete by refusing to stand next to him wasn't the way. It all seems particularly unfortunate in light of one of our swimmers testing positive for a banned substance.
Mack's protest was an appalling display of bad sportsmanship. As a non doping competitor, he should swim to the best of his ability, and let his performance speak for itself. Sun had permission to compete AND has a case under process (so the claims that the governing bodies are ignoring doping are unfounded) if Sun is found guilty, then Mack will probably be given gold at that point, but Sun may ofcourse be found to have not done wrong, in which case Mack cannot go back and change his behaviour on the podium.
I don't understand how you can take something unknowingly? Even if it's something as simple as Panadol, surely athletes know by now that absolutely everything should be checked out? Unless they're having a gun held to their heads or having their drinks spiked, they are responsible for knowing about and doing the research on everything that goes into their bodies.
They know. I used to row, I went as far as medal placement at national championships as a junior AND NO FURTHER, yet STILL I knew how much caffeine I could consume, what over the counter medications were ok and not, I had a 'drugs in sport' handbook and knew to call to check anything prescribed or otherwise that wasn't clarified in the book. I knew this from age 13.
"I didn't know what I was taking" is the athlete's equivalent of "the dog ate my homework". For once it would be refreshing to hear drug cheats just own up to cheating when they are caught, rather than insulting everyone's intelligence by insisting they are somehow the unwitting victims in the situation.
Athletes usually take various supplements. Shes akkeging that it may have been in a supplement that was contaminated. Kind of the same way that peanuts can contaminate food if they are made in the same factory but not on the ingredient list
Even if it's supplements they should still be checking that they're OK to take.