Shayna Jack

Did You Know?

• Jack was born in Brisbane.
• She started swimming at 18 months after her parents thought it would teach water safety.
• At age 10, she told her parents she wanted to be an Olympian.

Career

At the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Kihei, United States, the 15-year-old Jack earned gold in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay with a Championships record of 3:39.73, gold in the 100 meter freestyle (54.82), silver in the 200 meter freestyle (1:59.48), silver in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay, and placed fifth in the 50 meter freestyle. Days before the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, she withdrew citing personal reasons; it later emerged that an out-of-competition test by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority had detected the anabolic agent ligandrol, and a follow-up sample confirmed the substance.

Swimming Australia suspended her, and ASADA investigated. Jack stated on Instagram that she would never intentionally take a banned substance. The investigation concluded the ingestion was unintentional, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed a 24-month suspension from 12 July 2019 through 11 July 2021. In September 2021, after Jack served the full suspension, the Court upheld it as served when challenged by Sport Integrity Australia, allowing her return to competition.

At the May 2022 Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide, she achieved qualifying times for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning the 50 metre freestyle in 24.14 seconds and placing second in the 100 metre freestyle behind Mollie O'Callaghan with 52.60 seconds. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, she won her first medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, splitting 52.65 on the fourth leg for a gold in 3:30.95.

Three days later, she swam the freestyle leg (52.92) in the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay, contributing to a silver medal in 3:41.34 with Kaylee McKeown, Zac Stubblety-Cook, and Matthew Temple.