Shayna Jack reportedly faced with four-year ban by ASADA

It doesn't matter at the end of the day, This falls under the strict liability protocols the athlete is responsible of any and all substances found in their samples. They signed up to the code and understand the implications. She is an Elite Athlete. Had she been from another country I can see the howls of derision and indignation.

Gaius - fair enough.

She originally withdrew for "personal reasons". Whenever I hear that, I immediately suspect that there is more to it. Athletes cheat for one reason i.e. to obtain an unfair advantage e.g. Lance Armstrong & Ben Johnson. At least testings nowadays are sufficiently advanced to hopefully weed out the miscreants. Unfortunately cycling, swimming & athletics seem to be the most drug tainted of all sports. Overseas athletes breaking long standing records are sometimes viewed by us with an area of suspicion however no country is immune in that regard whether the athlete has intentionally or unintentionally boosted their performance by an illegal ingestion.

At the end of the day, the WADA and ASADA codes have an instrument called strict liability. In a nutshell, strict liability says that the athlete is responsible of any and all substances found in their samples. They signed up to the code and understand the implications. It matters not where the substance came from, the onus is on the athlete. Do not for a minute fall for the trap of believing that "innocent before being proven guilty" is a universal tenet, it is not and has no meaning in this context. It is up to the athlete to disprove the findings.

Hilarious. When will Australians realise that nobody appointed us the moral arbiters of sport.

What makes you feel like an accident isn't a mitigating circumstance against a PED ban? Are you aware of every chemical you are putting in your mouth? Are you sure its not contaminated with something that shouldn't be there? Do you expect athletes to have a testing laboratory inside their fridge? The vast majority of these athletes are not people with the million dollar contracts and endorsements found in other sports.

I've got two views on this. Thinking about the athlete, I entirely understand privacy and a concern for welfare. It's not an unreasonable point. Thinking about it from every other viewpoint SA has messed this up every single way. Regardless of what Mack Horton had to say or do, if we believe in a clean sport then there must be a clear and accurate statement about a failed test promptly after the athlete is notified. There wasn't a clear statement, it was hidden to avoid a controversy during the world champs (didn't work out so well), and then we got a whole series of contradictory and inaccurate statements. I simply don't buy the line of thinking that ASADA needs a cloak of silence to catch people deliberately trying to pass banned substances to our swimmers. If, and it's a very big if, such people existed they will know about it long before almost anyone else. Any athlete at that level must know, having been told a bazillion times, don't use anything from non-approved sources (I've personally sat in talks where 12 year olds are being taught this). How this same story keeps on playing out is truly beyond me.

BennO, Also, SA feel strongly that there might be dealers out there selling contaminated products to athletes, either intentionally, or otherwise. So in a way they support Jacks story at the moment. It's tough being an athlete, there's not much slack. The onus is on them to ensure no impure products enter their bloodstream. No ifs or buts. If Jack can't provide compelling evidence that supports her argument that she doesn't know how the illegal substance got into her blood, even if she is being honest, it won't help her. The onus is on her to prove otherwise. But I think SA have acted as well as can be expected.

Jokes aside, ignorance or not knowing what you are consuming is not enough. ASADA Published on November 6 a post on the substance stating it had appeared in 17 failed drug tests since 2015 despite the substance long term health impacts are unknown etc.. Here's the link https://www.asada.gov.au/news/blog-rise-lgd-4033 Here's the Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/ASADAantidoping/photos/a.390133521013077/2455769674449441/?type=3&theater published on the 5th of November ASADA or Swimming Australia not advising of the positive finding has had an adverse effect to all parties involved. Privacy laws worked if applied correctly. This smacks at protect our own and is has backfired spectacularly .

Such a shame.

Agree. An individual athlete protested. Pretty sure SA supported him, while knowing Jack had returned a positive sample. Now they've applied a provisional ban in line with their protocols. I'd say it makes SA look quite competent and they've acted consistently with their stated values. It's extremely unfortunate and I can't imagine how Jack would be feeling but I don't think the Australian team or administration has acted poorly.

She didn't "withdraw", she was sent home because of her positive drug test result.

To quote the late great Graham Kennedy “faaaarrrrkkkk,faaaarrrkkkk”.

Is there a World League Table of corruption and ineptitude of National and World sporting organizations? ---- Has FIFA lost their grip on top spot in the Corruption Table? Has the BCCI secured the double chance yet? Is this FINA's last chance to make the 8?

Four years is a bit harsh. Maybe two years. She did withdraw from the world championships. But of course, we don't know the full story yet. I do feel sorry for the overall swimmers. Swimming Australia and FINA are both inept.

My first thought on reading the headline: Oops...

Geoff - Why? Australia is pro-active against drug cheats. But that doesn't mean we're immune from them either. Do we shut because we're afraid of the cheaters in our own backyard? I think SA has handled this reasonably well, despite what the media might say. Anyway, Jack has to be given some benefit of the doubt. For the moment, anyway.

It would be refreshing to hear an athlete just put their hand up. Everyone from Paul Gallen to Shane Warne has had someone else to blame.

That deserves a four year ban. :)

It seems a premature announcement, has the hearing been conducted? A ban is likely, the two samples failed and no matter how you slice or dice it under Strict Liability the athlete is ultimately responsible for the failed test regardless of how the substance came to be in their system.