“I did a few times before we got there but it was an unbelievable experience and one of those things … that every time I’ve talked about it I get a bit teary because of how much that moment meant to me.
“And especially because my brothers had never watched me race at an international level and having them in the stands made me cry instantly and my parents were there and it was beautiful.”
In the lead up to the 2019 World Titles last July, one of Shayna’s doping samples returned traces of Ligandrol, a muscle growth agent.
She received a four-year ban from the pool courtesy of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), which is the maximum suspension for a first-time doping offence.
Shayna denied knowingly taking the drug and suggested the banned substance got into her system via contamination.
"I remember posting [a statement] on Instagram then just crying and crying until I had no tears left. Nobody really understood how much it broke me. I’m still broken,” the athlete said in an emotional interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
Virtually overnight, Shayna became one of the most controversial figures in swimming, with many high-profile athletes, including Mack Horton, backing ASADA’s decision.
"I was disappointed to learn late yesterday that a fellow Dolphins team member had recently returned a positive A sample," Mack said in a statement.
"I applaud the decision to immediately withdraw the athlete in question from further competition until this matter is resolved.”
Earlier this year, Shayna took to social media to vow to continue to clear her name.
"Now the real fight begins. Today I received further notice in relation to my hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport," she captioned one post.
“Despite a lifetime of competing clean and knowing that I had not used any prohibited substance, my life changed in an instant and I was pitchforked into an unknown world of lawyers, politics and machinations that was completely foreign to me. The process has been extremely arduous and debilitating at times," she continued.
"There are many aspects of the anti-doping system that are seriously flawed but possibly the worst element is the presumption of guilt that one has to bear.
“What sort of system infers that you are guilty of an alleged breach and the responsibility falls on you to prove your innocence?
"I intend to win this fight and put myself back in the pool and reclaim my position as a member of the Australian swim team," she wrote.
For more, watch Shayna on SAS: Australia, which kicks off October 19th. She joins the likes of Roxy Jacenko, Nick Cummins and Candice Warner.
RELATED: Olympians in profile: Mack Horton
