Shayna Jack was taken aback by the support she received after winning her first individual race since the doping ban that threatened to end her career.
After two years on the sidelines, Jack swam an impressive 54.58 in the 100m freestyle heats at the Queensland Championships. Her time was second-fastest for the final.
The 23-year-old received a warm applause after her race and was thrilled to see the support in the stands.
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“It was so nice to know that people that I have potentially never met are passionate about seeing me back,” she said.
“It boosts my confidence; I honestly did have fears that not everyone would be happy to see me back and that’s something I had to overcome. I couldn’t stop smiling.”
Jack was originally hit with a four-year suspension after testing positive to the banned substance Ligandrol just weeks before the 2019 FINA World Championships in South Korea.
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However, she was able to get the sentence halved following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), before Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) unsuccessfully appealed the reduction.
Jack admitted that she was left shattered by the second appeal.
“The toughest part for me was when they did appeal that second time, I didn’t have the money to afford it,” she said.
“So it was really amazing to see how many people got behind me… I’m standing here racing because of them.
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“There were lots of nerves this morning knowing I’d be on the blocks alone in a way.
“It took a long time to get back here and I’m really proud am I here.”