The Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Shayna Jack Doping Case

The doping case of Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has captured the attention of the Australian public. After testing positive to the prohibited substance Ligandrol in July 2019, Jack has endured the ignominy that accompanies an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) under Swimming Australia’s Anti-Doping Policy 2015. In November 2020, Jack had an initial sanction of a four-year period of ineligibility reduced to two years by a sole arbitrator in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), on the basis that the ingestion of the prohibited substance was not intentional. Subsequently, both the World Anti-Doping Agency and Sport Integrity Australia have lodged an appeal with the CAS against the decision to reduce the period of ineligibility. This article analyses the Shayna Jack decision and identifies legal principles that may need clarification by a CAS appeal tribunal. The authors ultimately conclude that an appeal against Shayna Jack’s reduced sanction is unlikely to succeed, due to the cumulative effect of factors unique to her case.