Doping in Sport: The Shayna Jack case

03/04/25 • 39 min

What happens when an athlete is punished for doping, but the athlete has no idea how the drugs entered their system?

In 2019 the Australian swimming world was rocked by news that champion swimmer Shayna Jack had returned a positive test for a banned performance enhancing drug.

The ensuing legal battle, including the penalties awarded against Jack, has exposed the challenges athletes face under current global anti-doping rules.

Guests:

Paul Horvath, Principal at SportsLawyer. Lawyer for Shayna Jack.

Associate Professor Catherine Ordway, Sport Integrity Research Lead, University of Canberra.

Case:

Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) v. Shayna Jack & Swimming Australia, CAS 2021/A/7579 & 7580, 16 September 2021.

Further Reading:

Tennis is facing an existential crisis over doping. How will it respond? by Catherine Ordway (The Conversation, 12 January 2025)

The US has exposed the World Anti-Doping Agency’s precarious funding model by Catherine Ordway (The Conversation, 20 January 2025)

Paul Horvath speaks on ABC Sport Podcast about the Jannik Sinner doping case (Best of ABC Sport, 17 February 2025)

Doping to Win: The Risks for Feeder Clubs and Their Athletes by Alexandria Anthony (SportsLawyer blog, 6 February 2025)

Australia Anti-Doping Processes: Balancing a Level Playing Field Against Unintentional Offences by Paul Horvath (SportsLawyer blog, 19 December 2024)

Ethics in Sports: Mitigating Risk for Sports Organisations by Paul Horvath (SportsLawyer blog, 17 October 2024)

* * * * *

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What happens when an athlete is punished for doping, but the athlete has no idea how the drugs entered their system?

In 2019 the Australian swimming world was rocked by news that champion swimmer Shayna Jack had returned a positive test for a banned performance enhancing drug.

The ensuing legal battle, including the penalties awarded against Jack, has exposed the challenges athletes face under current global anti-doping rules.

Guests:

Paul Horvath, Principal at SportsLawyer. Lawyer for Shayna Jack.

Associate Professor Catherine Ordway, Sport Integrity Research Lead, University of Canberra.

Case:

Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) v. Shayna Jack & Swimming Australia, CAS 2021/A/7579 & 7580, 16 September 2021.

Further Reading:

Tennis is facing an existential crisis over doping. How will it respond? by Catherine Ordway (The Conversation, 12 January 2025)

The US has exposed the World Anti-Doping Agency’s precarious funding model by Catherine Ordway (The Conversation, 20 January 2025)

Paul Horvath speaks on ABC Sport Podcast about the Jannik Sinner doping case (Best of ABC Sport, 17 February 2025)

Doping to Win: The Risks for Feeder Clubs and Their Athletes by Alexandria Anthony (SportsLawyer blog, 6 February 2025)

Australia Anti-Doping Processes: Balancing a Level Playing Field Against Unintentional Offences by Paul Horvath (SportsLawyer blog, 19 December 2024)

Ethics in Sports: Mitigating Risk for Sports Organisations by Paul Horvath (SportsLawyer blog, 17 October 2024)

* * * * *

🎙️ Thinking of making a podcast?

You need Miniature Creative, the producer of Case In Point.

Podcasts aren’t just entertaining for listeners. For your brand they build authority, trust and help you create deeper connections with your audience.

Get in touch 👉 www.miniaturecreative.com.au ✉️ [email protected]

Previous Episode

Exile & Empire in Paradise: The UK's Chagos scandal

Our case today takes us to the Indian Ocean, to a remote and breathtaking group of islands at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle.

The Chagos Archipelago is the focus of a decades-long dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom — one that involves international courts, the shadow of the Cold War, and a powerful U.S. military base.

This legal battle continues to the present day, and at its heart is a devastating human story of a paradise lost.

Show Notes

Guest: Professor Douglas Guilfoyle, University of New South Wales

Check out Douglas's podcast Called to the Bar: International Law Over Drinks.

Litigation as legal statecraft: Small states and the law of the sea, by Douglas Guilfoyle (Centre for International Law Blog, National University of Singapore, 7 July 2023)

The Chagos Archipelago Before International Tribunals: Strategic Litigation and the Production Of Historical Knowledge, by Douglas Guilfoyle (Melbourne Journal of International Law)

Chagos islanders make historic trip home without British escort (BBC News, 16 February 2022)

The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy by Philippe Sands & Martin Rowson

UK Foreign Secretary's statement on the Chagos Islands (7 October 2024)

* * * * *

🎙️ Thinking of making a podcast?

You need Miniature Creative, the producer of Case In Point.

Podcasts aren’t just entertaining for listeners. For your brand they build authority, trust and help you create deeper connections with your audience.

Get in touch 👉 www.miniaturecreative.com.au ✉️ [email protected]

Next Episode

Is it a crime to attempt to murder a corpse?

Today’s case has been described as one of the most bizarre cases in recent Australian legal history, with a climax mirroring one of Agatha Christie’s most famous novels.

Guest: Dr Natalia Antolak-Saper, criminal law scholar, Monash University

Case: R v Darrington [2016] VSC 60

Further Reading: Man jailed for eight years for attempting to murder a corpse (The Age, 29 February 2026)

* * * * *

🎙️ Thinking of making a podcast?

You need Miniature Creative, the producer of Case In Point.

Podcasts aren’t just entertaining for listeners. For your brand they build authority, trust and help you create deeper connections with your audience.

Get in touch 👉 www.miniaturecreative.com.au ✉️ [email protected]

Case In Point - Doping in Sport: The Shayna Jack case

Transcript

James Pattison: Now, Melissa, as a big sports fan, you will know that one of the most contentious issues in sport is doping.
Melissa Castan: I'm going to take your word for it because you know I have zero knowledge of sport, any sport. I'm a sport.
James Pattison: Well, I'm a legal, so we're going to have a really good discussion. In fact, we're going to play off each other's strengths and weaknesses in this conversation.
Melissa Castan: As always.
James Pattison: So, doping sca