'Contaminated': Bombshell 'kiss cocaine' defence in Aussie swimming scandal
Swimming star Shayna Jack has maintained her innocence in the doping case against her, saying a steroid detected in her blood may have come from cross-contamination.
Jack, 21, faces a suspension of up to four years after testing positive in July to Ligandrol, a non-steroid anabolic agent popular with bodybuilders.
The positive test resulted in her being dumped from the 2019 world titles team.
Jack is expecting to be formally charged by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) by Christmas.
In her first interview since the scandal emerged, Jack told Lisa Wilkinson on Channel 10's The Sunday Project that she did not take the steroid but could have easily come into contact with it through another person.
"I had a lot of people come forward and say they were taking this drug. People who go to the gym. Some people were using it as recovery ... they took it as a drop," Jack said.
"There was a case in the past called the 'kiss cocaine case' where someone had taken cocaine and then the partner, who was an athlete, kissed that person and they were contaminated because they had contact with something someone else had taken.
"I was told that anything I had come in contact with during that period could have been the risk of contamination."
Part 1: Five months ago, Shayna Jack made international headlines - for all the wrong reasons.
The 21-year-old is back in the spotlight today - but a lot of what you may have heard - is simply wrong. So here now, in her own words, is Shayna’s side of the story. pic.twitter.com/FUEZcW3DtP— The Project (@theprojecttv) December 15, 2019
Jack breaks down in emotional interview
The sprint star also spoke of the emotional and financial toll the scandal has taken on her and her family.
She has had to pay for a lawyer, a barrister and testing fees, while facing bullying on social media.
But Jack said she has been supported by her family and particularly her partner, Brisbane Blaze hockey star Joel Rintala.
"He has to deal with me every night. Sometimes I just can't sleep because I need to cry and let it all out, and he just holds me," she said.
"Recently, I had one of those days and the one thing he did was just bring my dog, Hugo, in. That dog made a big difference in my life. My dog wouldn't judge me. He knows when I'm upset. When I'm crying, he just literally puts his head on my shoulder. Animals just calm me."
Jack faces a four-year ban from swimming if ASADA rules against her.
