Hello.
When swimmer Shayna Jack tested Hello.
When swimmer Shayna Jack tested positive during a routine drug test,
her world imploded.
She was banned from competition, expelled from her team,
and ostracised from the Australian sporting community.
When Australian Story first caught up with Shayna Jack in 2021,
she was fighting a brutal legal challenge to get her career back.
Come the Paris Olympics, she achieved the unimaginable.
SHAYNA JACK: This is what happens when you travel
SHAYNA JACK: This is what happens with powdered foundation.
For my whole trip, I was having to make do,
and I've technically kind of clumped it back down again.
It's like my story - broken, but still going.
When I started talking about what I was going through in 2019,
I probably couldn't get two words out without struggling to talk.
I probably couldn't get two words out I was angry, I was upset,
I couldn't believe the things that I went through.
Now I'm sitting here with an Olympic gold medal in front of me, so...
It's something I probably don't think I have comprehended yet.
I think I haven't had enough time to reflect on it.
I've kind of been going full steam ahead,
and in a way it's probably a bit of
trying to avoid that moment of reflection
because of how many emotions can come out with it.
Being able to stand on that podium with those girls
and get a gold medal around my neck...
and get a gold medal As much as these are heavy,
it literally felt like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders
because I no longer needed to prove anything.
No matter how many times I get knocked down,
I will get up, and I will get up fighting,
and no-one's going to tell me that I'm not competing.
and no-one's going to tell me Um. Never again.
MAN: The Australian swimming team has been hit by a doping scandal
at the World Championships.
MAN: Shayna Jack tested positive for a banned substance. at the World Championships.
MAN: Shayna Jack tested positive for a banned substance.
From the beginning, I was slammed a drug cheat.
I was a disappointment to the country.
No matter what I said or did or how much I proved,
no matter how much money I threw at testing,
those organisations just wanted to prove that I was a drug cheat.
It was... It was a horrible process. those organisations just wanted to prove that I was a drug cheat.
It was... It was a horrible process.
(TEARFULLY) You know, like, it's been three years
(TEARFULLY) You know, like, and I still struggle with it.
It's criminal. It was absolutely criminal, what happened to her.
It's criminal. It was absolutely And no-one's accountable.
I actually had to really utilise a psychologist
I actually had to really utilise in the lead-up to Olympics,
because sport is so brutal and sport is not always fair.
WOMAN: She was burned through fire.
And some people crack, and some people, you know,
remould in the... in the broken pieces
and come back more interesting.
I don't think anyone can underestimate
the strength that she possesses.
To everybody that's supported me, I can't thank you enough.
You are the reason that I...
..fought a process that I thought was unbeatable.
..fought a process that And I beat it and I came back,
and I'm a two-time And I beat it and I came back,
and I'm a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
If somebody asked me, what do I do?
I'm a swimmer.
I love the feeling that I get when I race,
and I love the feeling I get when I float through the water.
WOMAN: Shayna started swimming when she was about 12 months old.
She just had a natural ability in the water.
She started swimming competitively, probably at the age of six.
She really liked to challenge herself as an individual,
even at a young age. herself as an individual,
even at a young age.
DEAN BOXALL: I saw this girl at 13.
I thought she could win Olympic gold.
She was a prodigy.
She was just beautiful swimmer. She was a prodigy.
She was just beautiful swimmer.
An unbelievable gift of holding water,
a skill set that not many have.
But you always knew that when she moved up the ranks,
that freestyle was going to be her game.
WOMAN: She joined my squad in 2015,
and I trained with her for about three years.
It was really rewarding seeing her go
from kind of a shy young teenager It was really rewarding seeing her go
from kind of a shy young teenager
and then blossoming into a fully fledged elite athlete
and qualify for an Australian team.
WOMAN: Your AIS Discovery of the Year, Shayna Jack.
In 2017, I ended up getting AIS Swimmer Of The Year,
which was a moment I never even thought would be possible.
It just highlighted that Tokyo 2020, here I come.
Yeah.
WOMAN: Shayna Jack was one of the new great hopes, I suppose.
The World Championships in South Korea were probably going to be WOMAN: Shayna Jack was one of the new great hopes, I suppose.
The World Championships in South Korea were probably going to be
one of those moments when she erupted onto the world stage.
I had trained harder than I'd ever trained.
I was ready to race, and I was ready to see what I could do.
CATE CAMPBELL: We went into Cairns for a two-week training camp.
She was looking really strong, really fit.
She was swimming personal bests and tracking really well.
It was day two that we went to the pool for the first time in Cairns.
We all started our swimming, and we went to the gym,
which was also on pool deck at the Cairns pool,
and one of the officials came over to me and said, you know,
and one of the officials came over "We're calling you in for testing."
A female followed me to the toilet, which was a public toilet,
A female followed me to the toilet, and did my sample.
And see you later. See you next time.
Um, so it was all very normal And see you later. See you next time.
Um, so it was all very normal for me.
We then went to a little town in Japan called Nagaoka
for another two weeks
to prepare for the World Championships.
I went shopping with one of my friends from the team,
and I got a phone call just asking me to come back to the hotel.
And they said, I've got to go up to the head coach's room.
And they said, I've got to go up And they said those words of
that they found something And they said those words of
that they found something in my system that was prohibited
that they found something and that stops me from racing.
Shayna couldn't talk. She was... she was hysterical, like, you know.
'Cause she basically knew what this means...
..what this means to fail a drug test.
..what this means You basically... You're out.
So within a 24-hour period, she was back on a plane
So within a 24-hour period, heading back to Brisbane.
I knew I didn't take any drugs,
and I knew I'd never been in a situation
and I knew I'd never been to even come close to taking drugs.
There's no way I took a tablet to even come close to taking drugs.
There's no way I took a tablet that I didn't know about
or took a protein that I hadn't checked.
My mind was going, "They're wrong.
"You're going to go back, you're going to be racing." My mind was going, "They're wrong.
"You're going to go back, you're going to be racing."
My coach was also saying the same thing.
It was like, "Just keep your bag packed
"and we'll wait for the b-sample and you'll be back on the plane.
"I'll see you with the team in Korea."
Because I thought this was just a big joke.
It's the revelation that's left our athletes red faced
It's the revelation that's left on the world's sporting stage,
and today,
Swimming Australia described Shayna Jack's positive drug test
as embarrassing and bitterly disappointing.
as embarrassing Jane... Jane...
TRACEY HOLMES: Once the news broke, it was just a feeding frenzy.
..Shayna doping dispute?
MAN: Are we now subject to global ridicule?
MAN: Are we now subject MAN: Shayna Jack was lying low.
I wasn't watching the news,
but the reason I knew it was out was because
someone had gone back through my Instagram
and told me to kill myself for being a drug cheat.
About a week after I got an email,
and that email said that my b-sample had tested positive as well.
and that email said that my b-sample I felt like I had died.
MAN: Shayna had tested positive to Ligandrol.
Ligandrol is an anabolic agent,
so it has the same effect of, say for example, anabolic steroids, Ligandrol is an anabolic agent,
so it has the same effect of, say for example, anabolic steroids,
where it helps put on muscle mass pretty quickly.
And at the moment it's not approved in Australia by the TGA.
Ligandrol is very popular in gyms, and it is inside some supplements,
and it's used as a bit of a muscle repairer.
It's easily available on the black market.
You'd actually have to be a fool if you're an intentional cheater
to use LGD-4033,
because it's easy to detect.
So I don't think any intentional cheater
So I don't think who knows what they're doing,
none of them are using who knows what they're doing,
none of them are using these substances.
I had no idea what it was.
I had never heard of it before.
I was not aware until I saw the news that I was up for a four-year ban.
DEAN BOXALL: A four-year ban means she misses out in Tokyo.
She can't train with the squad. She's not allowed.
She can't train with the squad. Cannot be with a registered coach.
She can't even go and do netball.
So she can't be seen to be in a team environment.
So she can't be seen to be I mean, you just...you just...
I mean, it's a death sentence I mean, you just...you just...
I mean, it's a death sentence for your sport.
I mean, it's a death sentence Do you want to go in the water?
I just kept saying, "Well, it's going to be thrown out,
"and you'll be back in the water,
"so you need to stay fit, Shayna.
"I need you to be ready to go when this is over."
I was not allowed to continue with my club,
so I had to swim alone during public hours.
So I was pretty much ostracised
from the whole sporting community So I was pretty much ostracised
from the whole sporting community itself.
I knew that the girl was struggling.
I thought that, um, she might not even be on this world at one stage.
She was very low, very low, very low.
And she called me at midnight for help.
And I said, I'll always be there for her.
It hurt so much having somebody question who I am.
And it is so far-fetched from who I am.
And I couldn't take that.
And I thought, "You need to stand up for yourself.
"You need to fight and prove to them that that is not who you are."
TIM FULLER: Anti-doping, the rules are very unfair.
MAN: Shayna, are you still insisting your innocence?
MAN: Shayna, are you still insisting If it's in your system,
regardless of how it got into your system,
regardless of how you are presumed to be guilty.
And from there, an athlete has to start the fight.
You know, the long fight of trying to prove their innocence.
TRACEY HOLMES: You're arguing for your future,
TRACEY HOLMES: but they don't even tell you
how much of a substance you've tested positive for.
How can you win that?
I'm not going to stop until I prove my innocence
and fight to get myself back in the pool.
Shayna made all attempts to identify
as to how the substance entered her system, Shayna made all attempts to identify
as to how the substance entered her system,
as to how the substance so she had her supplements tested.
One of Shayna's brothers is a registered athlete
One of Shayna's brothers and so is Shayna's partner,
and their supplements were also tested.
She examined things such as nail polishes, teeth whiteners,
She examined things such as you know, medication,
all of these things that, you know, enter her body.
But they were clean.
None of those resulted in finding
as to where the substance entered her system.
MAN: In the last 10 to 15 years,
testing for drugs in sport MAN: In the last 10 to 15 years,
testing for drugs in sport has come a long, long way.
To the point where
of one sugar cube
you could test the equivalent of one sugar cube
dissolved in enough water to fill 45 Olympic swimming pools.
Which means we're now finding fantastically low levels of drugs
Which means we're now finding in athletes' systems.
TRAVIS TYGART: We've had dozens of cases
where athletes are dealing with low-level positives
caused by meat contamination or intimacy with a partner.
You know, multivitamin or mineral or supplement contamination.
And the rules then demand You know, multivitamin or mineral or supplement contamination.
And the rules then demand
that an athlete who has a positive, in that regard,
is automatically assumed to be an intentional cheater
that deserves a four-year sanction.
The hearing for Shayna was a big moment.
This was the first time that she was able to stand up
before an independent sole arbitrator,
and tell her story, tell her side of things.
She told the court she was not able to, despite best efforts,
determine how the substance had entered her system.
It was the expert report that Sports Integrity Australia commissioned
that provided the strongest evidence in Shayna's favour, undoubtedly.
The expert that Sports Integrity had found had stated
the amount found on my system was pharmaceutically irrelevant,
meaning it had zero effect on my body.
It didn't help me increase muscle mass. meaning it had zero effect on my body.
It didn't help me increase muscle mass.
It didn't help me It didn't help me swim faster.
It didn't help me recover. It did nothing.
Shayna didn't know that it was a minute amount,
Shayna didn't know as far as concentration levels,
until the expert report was produced at the hearing.
The expert report said that it had come into contact with my body
The expert report said that it within two days of my test,
which places me in Cairns on the Swimming Australia camp.
The baggage claim, the hotel I stayed in,
the food that I was given that night, the pool, and the gym.
And the public toilets.
I was able to say, And the public toilets.
I was able to say, "These are possibilities.
"I cannot prove that this is where it happened.
"I cannot prove that "But I can say in those two days,
"these are the only things "But I can say in those two days,
"these are the only things that I did differently."
"these are the only things Australian swimmer Shayna Jack
has had her suspension from the sport halved
after a finding she did not intentionally
take a banned substance.
The sole arbitrator made reference to the fact
that the previous ten tests of Shayna Jack were negative.
He said in looking at all of the evidence
that it was not a case of intentional doping.
There was no evidence to support anything
that suggested that Shayna Jack had been involved in cheating,
but she still got a two-year sanction based on the fact
that the substance was in her system,
and that is an anti-doping rule violation.
As soon as I got that decision,
it was a massive weight lifted off my shoulders.
I cried with relief, because I finally felt like somebody listened.
It was a number of weeks after the decision,
sports Integrity Australia decided to appeal the two-year ban.
And shortly after that, the world Anti-Doping agency also announced
that they would be seeking a four-year ban for Shayna.
And on top of that, they also wanted me to pay both sides of that argument
And on top of that, they also wanted so I was ready to give up.
I basically handed the phone to my partner, Joel, and said,
"I'm done. I can't do this. I can't afford this.
"I can't handle this anymore."
JEMMA KING: I honestly don't think she would have gotten through
JEMMA KING: I honestly don't think without Joel.
You know, he doesn't talk much... (LAUGHS)
but, you know, he was just by her side.
He's just so supportive of her.
Joel took on the role as my protector.
He had to sit there at times and just hold me and watch me cry.
And it's not like he could tell me it was going to be OK,
And it's not like he could tell me because he didn't know that.
MAN: Keep pushing.
I am.
I haven't done these in a while.
Joel and I actually met at the QIS gym.
He was training as a hockey player, and I was training as a swimmer.
Like the old days. Huh?
Like the old days. The good old days.
When we met here?
Yes.
I had no expectations around finding the love of my life at 17.
Doesn't sound too good.
For us, it worked because we both were so committed to sport as well.
For us, it worked because we both Got the shakes going.
All that Pilates work yesterday.
And I guess it wasn't until we went through the process
And I guess it wasn't until that I went through in 2019
that our relationship that I went through in 2019
that our relationship really got tested.
(TEARFULLY) I said to him,
if he couldn't love me anymore
because of the kind of person that I had been during that process...
..if he couldn't look at me the same way anymore,
I would understand and not hold anything against him.
I would understand I'm very proud of you.
Are you? I'm very proud of you.
Are you? Yes.
He just always said that I was the love of his life
He just always said that and that I was his best friend.
We put together a plan of getting a GoFundMe together
We put together a plan of to help me finish my case.
And, um, that's actually what gave me that fight to finish.
So I'm here today to ask you to donate small amounts
that potentially could help me continue my fight.
I don't have the funds, and nor does my family.
And if I don't fight, I can potentially get the maximum ban,
because I couldn't stand up for myself in my next appeal.
JEMMA KING: It was so heart-warming to see
all of these people who she didn't know
donating, you know, great sums of money
and just the little messages that came with that.
And so I think that she saw that she had
really good community support,
which was great because, you know,
she'd felt enormous ostracism and rejection.
By the time we had actually sat in the next court process,
I had served my two-year ban,
and it was now getting to two years and three months.
I remember just sitting in front of the arbitrators
I remember just sitting and just pouring my heart out.
I guess I walked away knowing
that I had said everything and done everything possible
to give myself that chance to return to the pool.
TIM FULLER: There were three arbitrators,
and ultimately that full panel
ruled the same way as a solid... sole arbitrator,
and Shayna was cleared of intentional doping.
Tim basically said to me, "It's over."
They arbitrators have thrown the case out.
It was a relief.
But, um, for my body, it was a feeling of...
(TEARFULLY) .."You can finally stop fighting."
PAULINE JACK: As tough as it was for you...
..you probably never truly understand how strong you were
to actually get yourself through it.
That's how I remember you always saying to me, it was like...
Keep going, keep fighting, keep walking forward.
Yeah.
It was a hard decision whether or not I was going to
make a full comeback to swimming.
I remember speaking to you and Dad around like,
why would I even go back after everything that I endured?
I had started my criminology degree.
I actually also started I had started my criminology degree.
I actually also started going through the process
of applying for the police academy.
As much as we're happy that swimming has brought her great success,
we would be just as happy if she decided that she wanted to go to uni
and become a vet or a police officer or...
Whatever I wanted. We wouldn't have cared. Yeah.
As long as you were... Happy.
As long as you were happy and doing your best in what you wanted to do.
I reflected on the fact that so many people had financially supported me
to finish my fight,
and in a way, I owed it to them as well,
to go back to the pool and give it a shot.
I'd return to the pool in May 2021, and I said,
I'm going to give myself a year to fall in love with the sport again.
No expectations.
It was basically get back in the water
It was basically and try and love swimming again.
DEAN BOXALL: We actually met in the car park at St Peters.
I said, "This is the start of your journey back."
So we walked in, very emotional, and the guys clapped her
and um...and that was the start.
JEMMA KING: The new fight was in the water.
JEMMA KING: The new fight (SHOUTS)
She knew she had a long way to get (SHOUTS)
She knew she had a long way to get back to where she had been.
And her...her squad is the best in Australia,
so it was very apparent to her just how far she had slipped.
She knew what she needed to do.
And going through some sort of physical hardship was easy for her She knew what she needed to do.
And going through some sort of physical hardship was easy for her
after the mental anguish that she went through.
MAN: And here she is. Shayna Jack, out of lane three.
TRACEY HOLMES: Shayna's been out of swimming for two years.
Underway in the 100 freestyle for women.
And then she tries to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.
You can just imagine what sort of pressure she was under.
You can just imagine Could she handle it?
What was the media going to say?
Harris will probably get second, but Jack is more than back.
Harris will probably get second, She won her first Australian title.
MAN: She went the fastest time in the world this morning
MAN: She went the fastest time and she's lowered that again.
It's fantastic news, Shayna, makes the team, and she's lowered that again.
It's fantastic news, Shayna, makes the team,
but you would not believe what happens next.
My two fingers, um, these two,
got caught in the back of someone else's togs
as they did a turn and went in the opposite direction.
So it rotated my fingers around and broke my ring finger
and tore all the ligaments off my middle finger.
DEAN BOXALL: I just couldn't believe it.
DEAN BOXALL: I just feel like, here we go.
This is happening again, right?
This is happening again.
The doctor said, you know, "You've got a broken hand.
"You're not competing anymore. You're going home for surgery."
It's an eight-week recovery.
And Commonwealth Games was within four weeks.
I was told there's no way I'm going back.
I was told there's no way And I said, "Watch me."
I could see something in her eyes, a steely determination.
If I could bottle that and then just get someone to sip that... (LAUGHS)
..mate, you...you will go, full steam ahead.
MAN: Great joy for Shayna Jack to be back in this Australian team
MAN: Great joy for Shayna Jack to at the Commonwealth Games.
WOMAN: Shane is looking amazing. So strong.
Look at that six-speed kick.
The Australians defend their Commonwealth Games title.
It's the Aussies on top. The Australians defend their Commonwealth Games title.
It's the Aussies on top.
Once she did that, it's not even spoken about.
Broken hand comes in.
Gets third in the 50 and second in the 100 freestyle
Gets third in the 50 at the Commonwealth Games.
WOMAN: The next generation of young swimmers
are battling it out in Brisbane tonight
for a spot on Australia's Olympic team for Paris.
for a spot on Australia's (STARTER BEEPS)
MAN: The showstopper of the week is away. The 100 freestyle.
I felt vindicated the moment I stepped back
I felt vindicated the moment on the pool deck in general.
But when I made the Olympic team,
it was that moment that I'd been waiting for.
Shayna Jack gets up for second.
She'll get an individual swim in Paris.
WOMAN: Shayna Jack.
What a story.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
You are going to your first Olympic team with an individual spot.
You are going to your first Olympic Yeah, I honestly have no words.
WOMAN: Shayna Jack.
DEAN BOXALL: She's going to Paris.
There was no doubt at all.
She was always going to make it.
TRACEY HOLMES: Paris was such an incredible Olympic Games.
Australia, and particularly the women, were doing so well.
(STARTER BUZZES)
MAN: 4x100 freestyle relay for women.
MAN: 4x100 freestyle relay You want Shayna in that relay team,
because she brings that confidence
and she brings that resilience to the team.
And Jack still maintains the lead.
The Australians look to win the 4x100 for a fourth time in a row.
The Australians look to win the A second gold of the night.
Australia.
Well done to Meg Harris...
How beautiful of a moment it was.
Olympic record time as well.
We got on the podium and the crowd's right behind us.
It's one of those moments that you wish
It's one of those moments you could live over and over again.
Here's this girl standing up and I was like, "Oh, my God. Here we are."
Two gold medals from two relays.
What an incredible start to an Olympic campaign.
Shayna then finds herself in the individual events.
Shayna then finds herself The 100m and the 50.
MAN: Jack is in five.
Both of them have started MAN: Jack is in five.
Both of them have started pretty well. It's a...
I didn't want anybody in the media to know it,
I didn't want anybody but she was sick.
Um, she had RSV, which is a virus. but she was sick.
Um, she had RSV, which is a virus. Respiratory virus.
Um, she had RSV, which is a virus. Eight of our ten swimmers got it.
And it certainly did knock the edge off Shayna.
O'Callaghan and Jack are fourth and fifth.
She ends up finishing fifth in the 100 and eighth in the 50.
That's not where she wanted to finish.
It was clearly disappointing for her.
I'm not proud of the results,
but I am proud of the way I handled myself
and the process that I went through to get there.
I just hope her candle has still got a flame on it,
and there's a lot of wax still left on it.
and there's a lot of wax Because I'm hoping for LA.
She'll have time to reflect, and I think when she reflects...
..I think she goes, "We go again."
"We go again."
I am at a stage of not knowing where my goals lie in swimming.
And so I am back in the pool,
but I don't know where that's going to end up yet.
So on the other side, that's the Eiffel Tower.
Can you guess how heavy it is?
I don't look at swimming as Can you guess how heavy it is?
I don't look at swimming as my be-all and end-all now.
When I was younger, and before everything happened to me
When I was younger, and before with the anti-doping system,
I wrapped up my identity in swimming.
I WAS swimming.
Please put your hands together and welcome Shayna Jack.
Now I look at myself again as who I am, not what I do.
I basically had to reinvent myself as a different person.
JEMMA KING: Shayna's really shown people,
even though you have had a catastrophic event happen to you,
even though you have had there is a way through.
Yeah.
She's big, she's strong.
She won't take shit from anyone anymore.
She won't take shit I have a different outlook on life
and have a different outlook I have a different outlook on life
and have a different outlook on my experiences in the pool, and...
It hasn't been portrayed yet as one of the greatest comeback stories,
It hasn't been portrayed yet as one but I think it will.
I hope it is spoken about for a long time.
Not only did I come home from the Olympics
Not only did I come home with two gold medals,
I also went on a holiday
with my now fiance,
and he proposed to me at Rome at the Trevi Fountain.
He pulled out the ring and asked me
to spend the rest of my life with him,
and it was instant shock that it was happening
at the same time as a lot of tears,
just because it was...it was perfect.
LEIGH SALES: And that's the final episode of Australian Story for 2024.
Join us for new programs in 2025.
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