'Great news': Swimming world erupts over Shayna Jack moment
Shayna Jack has broken down in tears after securing selection on Australia's swimming team in her comeback from a doping ban.
Jack secured her spot at this year's world titles and Commonwealth Games in the 100m freestyle at the national championships in Adelaide on Wednesday night.
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The 23-year-old, whose two-year doping suspension ended last year, finished second behind Mollie O'Callaghan in the final.
That feat earns her automatic selection for the world championships in Budapest in June and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July and August.
"I am just overwhelmed with emotions to be back on the team," Jack said as she wiped away tears.
"Not many people really know what I actually went through, the depths of it.
"And to be back and wearing those (Australian) colours again means more than anything to me.
"I can't thank (enough) all the people in my inner circle who got me through and got me back to swimming.
"My goal was to ... fall back in love with swimming again and I have. I am really, really proud to be back."
Jack was initially banned for four years after testing positive to the banned substance Ligandrol about three weeks before the 2019 world championships in South Korea.
The Queenslander's suspension was reduced to two years on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found Jack did not knowingly ingest the substance.
The 23-year-old admitted fearing she would never return to an Australian swim team.
"There was a lot of times I thought I might not get to this point," she said.
"And not just because of the whole (doping) case.
"I struggled. I lost touch with why I love swimming and why I did swim."
Coach Dean Boxall and sports psychologists were crucial in rekindling her desire to swim.
"Dean was patient with me, he reminded me of all those things that I loved," Jack said.
"I just worked harder each day ... and it's still a journey.
"I am still learning and doing things with psychologists ... and that has been really beneficial to my comeback.
"To be completely honest, I am stronger, I am fitter and faster which I just proved. This is just the beginning for me."
If you’re a gambler, put your money on Australia winning the women’s 4x100 free in Birmingham. That is some incredible depth 😅
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) May 18, 2022
Australia 100fr depth is mindblowing...2022 ranking for the W4*100fr (is likely to be :
🏅WR - Australia 🇦🇺A' (Commonwealth squad)
🥈CR : Australia 🇦🇺 B' (Worlds squad)— Ha'lu'gasy (@ha_gasy) May 18, 2022
Seven women got under that qualifying time😱😱😱
— K.S.T🇨🇦🇳🇬🇬🇧05 (@KTitobi) May 18, 2022
Just casually not having the reigning Olympic champ and bronze medallist and still having that depth...
— pullbuoy (@pullbuoy) May 18, 2022
Great News. I felt she'd been unfairly banned but Shayna Jack makes Australian Commonwealth Games swim team, https://t.co/D8QLjXa7YR
— Sam Douglas (@SamDouglas42) May 18, 2022
After all the tears and turmoil, Shayna Jack is poised to return to the green and gold at the World Championships in Budapest next month and the Commonwealth Games later in the year. https://t.co/tLLA7ah2fr
— Qudach Australia (@QudachAU) May 18, 2022
Cody Simpson makes Australia's swim team
Jack's triumph came moments after global pop sensation Cody Simpson finished third in the men's 100m butterfly final.
Swimmers finishing in the top two in a final at the nationals gain selection for the worlds and the top three placegetters earn a spot for the Commonwealth Games.
Simpson finished behind winner Matt Temple and Kyle Chalmers, who will skip the worlds to focus on the Commonwealth Games.
Chalmers' decision to bypass the worlds means Simpson is a likely discretionary selection for Budapest, while being a certainty for the Commonwealth Games.
"I certainly didn't even expect it to even be a possibility until 2024," Simpson said of being on an Australian team.
"The fact that stuff has started to happen so quickly, so early, is just unreal."
The 25-year-old was a promising junior swimmer before becoming a global pop sensation after releasing songs on YouTube from 2010. He returned to the pool in 2019.
Other winners on Wednesday night included Elijah Winnington (men's 400m freestyle), Jenna Strauch (women's 100m breaststroke) and Josh Edwards-Smith (men's 200m backstroke).
with AAP
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