'Wouldn't be alive': Cate Campbell reveals chilling Shayna Jack claim
Cate Campbell has detailed a chilling conversation in which Australian swimming teammate Shayna Jack admitted she "wouldn't be alive" if she cared what people said about her.
Jack and Campbell both sat down with the ABC for Monday night's episode of Australian Story, in which they discussed Jack's ordeal and fight to clear her name.
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The 22-year-old was sent home from the 2019 World Championships and handed a four-year ban after testing positive for banned substance Ligandrol.
Last year that ban was then reduced to two years, however the World Anti-Doping Authority and Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) have both appealed the reduction.
Jack has attracted plenty of criticism while maintaining her innocence and insisting she never knowingly ingested the banned substance.
The scandal erupted at the same time as Jack's teammate Mack Horton was condemning Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who was also subsequently banned for doping.
Jack was targeted with some vile abuse by Chinese swimming fans who were still angry about Horton's comments about Sun.
Speaking to the ABC on Monday night, Campbell revealed the extent of the abuse that Jack suffered.
“I’ve been very upset by this whole thing by how Shayna has been treated,” Campbell said.
“She said, ‘Cate, I’m so lucky that I’m not the type of person who particularly cares what people say about me, because if I did, I wouldn’t be alive right now'."
“I have received a bit of backlash for supporting Shayna. However, I believe that it’s the right thing to do.
"What really scares me about this situation is that I believe it could have happened to me.
"This case has made me aware that it is possible for contamination to occur.
"I can support Shayna Jack and I can still have a zero tolerance for drugs in sport - both of those things are possible.”
Shayna Jack still fighting to clear her name
As Jack prepares to head back to court, she revealed the minuscule amount of Ligandrol that was detected in her system.
“The expert that Sports Integrity had found, had stated the amount found in my system was pharmaceutically irrelevant, meaning it had zero effect on my body,” Jack said.
“It didn’t help me increase muscle mass. It didn’t help me swim faster. It didn’t help me recover. It did nothing.
“The expert report said that it had come into contact with my body within two days of my test, which places me in Cairns on the Swimming Australia camp.
"Therefore, the flight, 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, ‘These are possibilities.’ I cannot prove that this is where it happened. But I can say in those two days, these are the only things I did differently.”
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
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