Shayna Jack, one of Australia’s fastest swimmers, received a two-year ban for non-intentional doping, ruling her out of competition through July 11, six days after the Tokyo Olympic entry deadline and 12 days before the Opening Ceremony.
Jack, 22, tested positive for ligandrol, a banned anabolic agent, on June 26, 2019, and was withdrawn from Australia’s world championships team that summer. She was provisionally banned July 12, 2019, which is the start date for her backdated two-year ban announced Monday.
A sole arbitrator found that Jack did not intentionally ingest ligandrol, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s press release. An original ban of four years imposed by Australian officials in December was halved.
Jack previously said she did not know how ligandrol entered her system but learned that it can be found in contaminated supplements.
“The anti-doping rules are far from satisfactory and can produce results that are far from fair,” was posted on Jack’s social media on Monday. “In my case, I have proven that I have NOT ever cheated, nor used prohibited substances intentionally or knowingly. I will still incur two years out of the sport in which I love. I cannot change the rules and the rules will remain as they are for the time being. Therefore, I accept this decision with a positive attitude and with gratitude that my career as a swimmer will resume next year.”
The Australian Olympic team will be chosen after its swimming trials in June, which Jack will miss.
Jack was Australia’s fourth-fastest woman in the 100m freestyle in 2017, 2018 and 2019, making her valuable in the 4x100m free relay. Australia is the reigning Olympic and world champion in the event, relegating the U.S. to silver medals.
Without Jack, Australia reclaimed the world title from the U.S. in 2019, clocking a championship record 3:30.21 to win by .81.
If the U.S. can overtake Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, it would further Simone Manuel‘s bid for medal history next summer. Manuel is the reigning world champion at 50m and 100m freestyle and has the potential to swim on four relays in which the U.S. won a world title in either 2017 or 2019.
Only one woman has won six golds at a single Olympics -- East German swimmer Kristin Otto in 1988.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!