Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, once fueled by anger, pain, and a sense of injustice, has found a new source of motivation: competing alongside her younger brother Jamie at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Paris Olympic gold medallist is vying for her third Commonwealth Games appearance, but this time, the goal is different.
Trials and Selection for Glasgow
Australia's 42-strong squad for this year's Games will be determined during the week-long trials starting Monday at Sydney Olympic Park. Selection for the Pan Pacific championships is also on the line. Jack will be one of many heavyweights in the pool, joined by stars like Mollie O'Callaghan, Kaylee McKeown, and Lani Pallister, who has set an ambitious program racing in the 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle events.
On the men's side, Cameron McEvoy, the 50m freestyle world record holder, headlines the field alongside Kyle Chalmers and Zac Stubblety-Cook.
A Family Affair
Jack will compete in the 50m and 100m freestyle sprints, the same events as her 23-year-old brother Jamie. Should both make the Glasgow team, they would become the first sister-brother duo to represent Australia since Emma and David McKeon at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
“I have done a lot in the sport — world records, gold medals, time away from the sport,” Jack told AAP. “I really just wanted to come into this and support my brother and try to help him as much as I could. It’s an extra edge for him potentially, and it’s an edge for me. That’s what I was really looking for after Paris — something that motivated me to get back in the pool.”
Overcoming Adversity
Jack was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay teams at the Paris Olympics, following a two-year doping ban. The Brisbane product failed an out-of-competition drug test in 2019, missing the Tokyo Olympics. After an investigation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport found that an accident had led Jack to ingest a banned substance.
The 27-year-old says the saga remains “a trauma I haven’t dealt with.” She reflected, “It is hard to tame the beast of competitiveness, but I really didn’t like the kind of athlete that I had become. I became someone driven by anger, and that injustice was used as fuel. As much as that got me the results I hoped for, I didn’t want to continue my career that way.”
Jack added, “I haven’t looked at whether I have another level. I’m just proud of the person I’ve become. Because of everything I’ve experienced, I wouldn’t be who I am without those experiences. It’s still something that comes up frequently, and it’s still a trauma I haven’t dealt with, but I will get there.”
