Aussie doping case has exposed double standard

According to news.com.au, Swimming Australia might have engaged in a cover-up to protect female athlete Shanya Jack. If true, the allegations expose double standards and utter hypocrisy in the treatment of Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang by both Swimming Australia and some of Sun's fellow athletes.

Late last month, Jack failed a doping test for a drug called Ligandrol, which increases muscle growth. However, when the 20-year-old was abruptly withdrawn from the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on July 14, Swimming Australia put it down to "personal reasons".

Both Swimming Australia and the country's sports minister have defended that action, but their explanations fail to convince any objective observer. Even former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority chief executive Richard Ings has taken to social media to point out that Swimming Australia's initial statement "was an untruth".