- Jack was suspended for two years for positive test result
- He served his suspension but has always maintained his innocence.
Shayna Jack’s coach Dean Boxall admitted he thought the Olympic gold medalist would take her own life when she was in the depths of despair over her two-year ban for drug use.
Jack, 26, was forced to leave the pool in 2019 when she tested positive for the banned muscle-building drug ligandol.
She has always maintained her innocence and finally cleared her name after proving that the rest’s outcome was due to contamination.
However, the ban cost her a place at the Tokyo Olympics and left her so devastated that Boxall feared the worst.
The famously excitable swimming guru has revealed that Jack was “shown a lot of injustice by a number of people” and was “battered” on social media in the wake of the ban, to the point where a troll told him to quit. would commit suicide
“I thought maybe I wouldn’t even be in this world at one point,” Boxall told the ABC TV show. Australian history program.
“What happened to her was absolutely criminal. And no one is responsible.
The prestigious coach, who has helped lead several Australian swimmers to Olympic gold, has never doubted her innocence.
Shayna Jack (pictured right, hugging teammate Mollie O’Callaghan after winning gold at the Paris Olympics) went to hell and back during her two-year drug ban.
Jack’s coach Dean Boxall (pictured) admitted he feared the 26-year-old would take her own life when she was banned from playing the sport she loves.
“If you use drugs and are caught cheating, you should be banned for life, but there are cases where it has nothing to do with cheating; like touching a weight, you can contaminate yourself with your hands,” he said. explained.
Jack’s comeback to win two golds at the Paris Olympics was one of the highlights of the Games for Australian fans, but the scars of his ban and the long legal fight that followed run deep.
“The way they did it completely stripped me of my humanity,” he told the show.
‘No matter what I said or did or how much I tried, no matter how much money I spent on testing, (anti-doping agencies) just wanted to prove that I was a drug cheat.
“It’s been three years and I still struggle with it.”
The Queenslander also revealed the moment she came closest to giving up the fight to clear her name.
She and her legal team had successfully argued before the Court of Arbitration for Sport that the presence of the drug in her system was unintentional, but the World Anti-Doping Authority and Sport Integrity Australia appealed the length of her ban anyway.
“I handed the phone to my partner Joel and said, ‘I’m done. I can’t afford this. “I can’t take it anymore,” he recalled.
Jack (pictured at the Cox Plate horse race this year) revealed the moment he came closest to quitting as he tried to clear his name.
Jack has lost none of his passion for the pool, as evidenced by the decision he announced after his last race in Paris in August.
“I definitely have that motivation to come back in four years (for the Los Angeles Olympics),” he said.
‘This is just the beginning for me.
‘This is my redemption chapter and I hope there is more to come and more story to tell.
‘I just didn’t think I’d ever be here, let alone swimming again.
“I didn’t know if I would fall in love with the sport again and I’m trying to say that I’m in love with the sport and I love racing and I love being a part of something that’s more than just me.
‘I got a little emotional because I worked really hard to be here and I’m really proud of everything I’ve accomplished personally and as part of this team this week, so, you know, it’s sad to say goodbye to him.’
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