As the ongoing doping case against 20-year-old Australian freestyle ace Shayna Jack begins to unfold, more and more members of the swimming community are speaking up about the situation. We’ve heard from Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell, Jack’s St. Peters Western Coach Dean Boxall, Swimming Australia CEO Jacco Verhaeren and more.
Both the Australian Swimmers’ Association (ASA), as well as the Dolphins Athlete Leaders have released statements concerning their teammate Jack’s positive doping test.
For background, the ASA serves as the representative body for competitive swimmers in Australia and is a voting Stakeholder of Swimming Australia. Its governing officer is Rio Olympic swimmer Matthew Abood, with Jess Ashwood, Bronte Barratt, Bronte Campbell and Jake Packard serving as general members.
As for the Dolphins Athlete Leaders, the group consists of Mitch Larkin, Jess Hansen, Alex Graham, Cate Campbell, and sister Bronte. The leaders were confirmed as of March of this year. Part of the Dolphins Athlete Leaders role is to epresent the wider Australian Dolphins’ team in discussing challenges and opportunities while maintaining a strong connection and open communication with Swimming Australia’s organizational leaders.
Below are the two group’s separate statements:
ASA Statement
The Australian Swimmers’ Association was shocked to hear of Shayna Jack’s positive test to a banned substance, and our primary concern is her wellbeing through a life altering experience. As ASADA made clear over the last couple of days, there are privacy and confidentiality policies in place to protect the athlete and the integrity of the investigation that prevent any details being released unless by ASADA or Shayna. The ASA acknowledges and respects Swimming Australia for adhering to these policies and Shayna’s wishes to speak when ready. The ASA remains committed to a clean and drug-free sport and following the procedures put in place by ASADA to govern this.
The ASA congratulates the team on their outstanding performances at the Gwangju 2019 World Championships. The headlines from this week don’t detract from the courage, determination and character that was on display in Korea. The ASA wishes all the elite swimmers of this nation the very best in making the next 359 days count in reaching their goals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Dolphins Athlete Leaders Statement:
The Athlete leadership group consisting of Mitch Larkin, Jess Hansen, Alex Graham and Cate and Bronte Campbell said: “We support Swimming Australia and our CEO Leigh Russell in following the confidentiality policy set out in legislation through ASADA and do not agree with any suggestion that Swimming Australia has attempted in any way to cover this up.
“We are proud of the fact we have one of the strongest anti-doping programs in the world and ASADA has clearly stated the rules on disclosure and the rule prohibiting Swimming Australia from releasing details are there for a reason – without them our system can be compromised.
“Swimming Australia kept our team informed when they were allowed – under the legislation – to do so. We also strongly believe in an athlete’s right to privacy and fair process under the ASADA code while a full investigation takes place and due to a leak of this information in the early stages of this process these rights have been infringed.”
“We stand very strongly in our commitment to clean and drug-free sport and this won’t change, but we also are strongly committed to following the procedures set out in legislation.
“Finally, we would also like to thank the Australian public for the support we have received following our performances in Gwangju – we very much appreciate it. We were extremely proud of how the team performed and are looking forward to the next 12 months as we build towards Tokyo 2020.”
Both the ASA and Athlete Leaders will not be commenting further on the situation, as they wish to respect the privacy of Shayna.
How long do the “performance enhancing” effects last of Lgandrol or whatever drug it was… because even if Jack gets off any ban, would she still have the advantage over other swimmers given the drug is still in her system as the case may be.
Permanent changes to the muscle cells occur. “Muscle Nuclei Gained in Training Persist During Atrophy”
I don’t care for the last sentence in bold. If you are not going to speak out now when the issue is front and center then when are you going to do it? The wording of the statement is just lame and full of legalese. I would rather see something spoken from the heart. There is a lot that can be said and still respect her privacy.
what more could they say that hasnt already been said in the last few days?
Did you read what I wrote? Something from the heart and not some press release crafted by attorneys or public relations people. What I’m really saying is that it looks like they are guilty of having a double standard cause its one their own. The Chinese are laughing at the Aussies right now. How do you say karma in Chinese?
But theres nothing they can say that would make you change your views on the situation anyway. Of course the whole thing is shrouded in protocols and attorneys. its delving with international sports law, possible criminal charges and at the very least shayna jack’s career and income is on the line so of course lawyers and PR is involved. the swimmer is already suspended as soon as they found the positive result, so what and where is the “double standard” you speak of?
So there is no privacy for Sun Yang? No due process at all? Big and clear hypocrisy.
Pretty sure we didn’t find out about smashed vials for 6 months ( after it happened ). That’s pretty private
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-29/shayna-jack-swimming-australia-defends-competitor/11355498
Here you go, here is the Leigh Russell’s interview , you can skip to 3:34 if you want. I’m talking about the due process and double standards.
Also when I said privacy, I didn’t really mean the news out there or when did you learn the news. I have no intention to say anything bad about this 20 years girl. I’m just wondering would the athletes hold the same standard, no comments on Sun Yang? It’s clear that Leigh Russell knew FINA has already cleared Sun Yang’s name, Mack Horton definitely also knew the situation but everyone saw what happened.