On Wednesday (February 21), the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) announced that the A-sample of Jessica Peris’s urine had returned "positive for three prohibited metabolites".

ASADA insisted it was only commenting in response to a statement made by 100 and 200 metres sprinter Jessica Peris in the media after the story was broken in an Australia newpaper the day before.

But Nova Peris - the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold as part of the Hockeyroos team at Atlanta 1996 - has released a statement.

"It is disappointing in the extreme that ASADA has chosen to publicly respond to Jessica's statement to the media … when all Jessica was doing was responding to a story … which for the first time reported on the positive test to this sample, and which until that time had appropriately remained confidential," she said.

"It is incomprehensible that the details of Jessica's October 18, 2017 positive A urine sample test were publicly leaked in the first place, while ASADA's investigation is still ongoing.

"The fact that Jessica still has not been notified as to the results of the tests to her 18 October B urine sample makes ASADA’s statement this afternoon all the more troubling and upsetting.

"It is also worth noting that the blood sample taken from Jessica the same day has tested negative and a further urine sample taken from Jessica two days later on 20 October 2017 has also tested negative.”

Peris, who switched from hockey to athletics and won 200m Commonwealth gold in 1998 before becoming the first indigenous woman to be elected to the Federal Parliament, continued:

"We maintain that the overall testing procedure surrounding the sample taken from her on 18 October by ASADA is flawed and we will challenge his process in the Court of Arbitration for Sport or elsewhere in due course, in the event that ASADA and Athletics Australia formally makes any doping allegation against Jessica.

"Jessica insists she did not take any performance-enhancing substance and she will do all she can to ensure that her reputation as a clean athlete continues unblemished.

"For now though we ask that ASADA and Athletics Australia properly and professionally deal with Jessica’s case through her solicitors…and not subject her to a public ‘trial-by-media’, which here is not only inappropriate, but extremely unfair."

Jessica Peris, 27, had been preparing for the Commonwealth trials ahead of the home Gold Coast 2018 in April after running a personal 100m best of 11.41sec in January, but had to withdraw after hearing of her failed test two weeks beforehand.