News :
A doping case with the loudest critics - sports
- As the Chinese Sun Yang wins gold, the Australian Mack Horton clearly protests against his opponent. Sun Yang had a doping sample destroyed with a hammer.
- Now, the Australian Shayna Jack admits to have been tested positive before the World Cup. On which substance is still unknown.
A competition day yet, then the World Swimming Championships in South Korea history. As far as the Germans are concerned, one can already draw a balance: the atmospheric. Half a year after the split from the controversial head coach Henning Lambertz were in Gwangju as good as no discernible sounds. Everywhere a German swimmer or a German swimmer turned around the corner and assured that the race was "a lot of fun". On Saturday, for example, the only 17-year-old Anna Elendt, who had surprisingly qualified for the final over 50 meters chest. Like Florian Wellbrock, 21, over 1500 meters freestyle - he is one of the favorites for medals on Sunday.
But as always in the individual sport swimming applies: In the medal table, the successes are indeed attributed to the nations, the stories but everyone has to write himself. And not always these are the stories that you want to expect the sport.
So it was announced on Saturday that just the Australian team has a doping case recorded. Shayna Jack, 20, has been tested positive. This is also explosive, because it was the Australians who had positioned themselves most clearly in the debate over the Chinese Sun Yang (keyword: Doping sample smashed with a hammer). And now: stones from the glasshouse?
Three stories about athletes who have been in the focus during the last World Cup days. Shayna Jack, who had to leave in secret, Marco Koch, who made a notable comeback - and Caeleb Dressel, who just keeps winning.
Shayna Jack
Shayna Jack is not there anymore. Just before the first race, she flew home to Australia, and the only thing that became known was "personal reasons." You can see that either way. Because her case also affects others: first and foremost Mack Horton, the silver winner over 400 meters freestyle. And that too very personally.
What actually hides behind Jack's "personal reasons" was made by the swimmer on Saturday in the Australian newspaper The Sunday Telegraph Public: a positive A-test, delivered on June 26th at the training camp in Japan.
The 20-year-old freestyle swimmer, who was scheduled for the season at the Gwangju World Cup, vouches for her innocence: "Swimming has been my passion since I was ten, and I would never purposely take a banned substance because it ignores my sport and mine Career would endanger, "she told the newspaper. "My team and I are doing everything to find out when and how this substance came in contact with my body."
Shayna Jack is from Brisbane and also trains there. Her coach is Dean Boxall, who also looks after Ariarne Titmus, 19, the new star on the Australian lifeboat: Four medals were won by Titmus in Gwangju, including gold over 400 meters freestyle.
What was Shayna Jack tested for? The Australian swim team confirmed the conspicuous sample on Saturday, but did not provide any information on the substance. Above all, it will depend on how the case is to be assessed in the end. With some means an athlete can at least theoretically come into contact with contaminated food - with others this is impossible. Shayna Jack passionate denial? Your perplexity? This has already been heard by many athletes.
Anyway, more questions make us wonder why the Australian team management played the game of hide and seek. On July 14, Jack had canceled for the World Cup, the co-coach Michael Bohl declared her condition thereafter as a "mystery". And maybe even Mack Horton would have done a lot of things on the first World Cup evening, if he had been able to estimate the drop height correctly. Horton had become the head of those athletes protesting against Chinese Sun Yang's presence at the World Cup. During the award ceremony, Horton stood behind the podium, after which he refused Sun Yang the joint photo of the medalists.
The Australians have on Saturday mainly for understanding. For example, that the rule is for them to immediately withdraw anyone who has any suspicion of any kind from any competition. This was also a side blow to Sun Yang, who has to answer in court before the Court of Justice Cas Cas, because he had last September to destroy a doping test with the hammer. At the same time, names can always only be mentioned if the procedure is official, wrote the head of "Swimming Australia," Leigh Russell. One did not inform the team at all.
Now it was Shane Jack himself who confirmed the case. There could not have been a worse time for that.