When Shayna Jack was going through her own personal hell, she always had her younger brother Jamie in a nearby lane of the pool.

After being banned for taking a non-approved substance – a charge Shayna has consistently maintained was unintentional – there were days when getting out of bed and making it to training felt almost impossible.

Through it all, Jamie, who is four years younger, was always there.

When Shayna qualified for her first Olympic team in 2024, it was Jamie who greeted her poolside in Brisbane before she embraced coach Dean Boxall in an emotional celebration.

For all of Shayna’s success in the pool, there was one thing missing: sharing an Australian team with her brother. It took another two years, but that dream finally became reality this week when the siblings both secured spots on Australia’s Commonwealth Games team for Glasgow, becoming the first brother and sister for Australia in swimming since Emma and David McKeon in 2014.

“I distinctly remember one tough session where I was walking out, and I could hear Jamie behind me, so I just stopped and waited,” Shayna said. “I needed my little brother, and I just remember I was hugging him, and he was just saying how proud he is of me and how I’ve handled my fiance being away [with the Australian hockey team in Perth] and still trying to get through everything that I was getting through.

“I still am dealing with a lot of that past trauma, which I have been completely open about, and mental health is something that will continue to be worked on. I really appreciate when Jamie lifts me up when I potentially need that little boost.”

Jamie qualified for his first Australian team in the 50m freestyle, placing second behind Cam McEvoy, while Shayna will race in the 50m and 100m freestyle events, as well as relays. Their parents will make the trip over to Scotland, with both strong chances of winning medals.

“I’m really excited to be able to go over there for Australia, and to be able to do it with Shayna is even more special,” Jamie said. “I really just wanted to have some confidence coming to the main to tell myself that I deserve to be there and I have done the work.

“I think I was on career-best form. I was really happy with how I did handle the pressure.”

Australia has named a strong swimming team for next month’s Commonwealth Games, headlined by world record holders Kaylee McKeown and Cam McEvoy, along with 15 Dolphins debutants, including emerging backstroke star Henry Allan.

On the sixth and final night of Australian trials, selectors unveiled a squad of 60 swimmers — across both able-bodied (42) and para (18) programs — for the Games in Glasgow, which begin on July 24.

McKeown and McEvoy hold long-course world records – Ariarne Titmus retired last year – while the likes of Mollie O’Callaghan, Kyle Chalmers, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Shayna Jack, Sam Short and Meg Harris are among the household names who will spearhead Australia’s campaign during six days of competition after the Games were controversially relocated from Victoria.

As far as trials go, the results were encouraging, although there were only a handful of truly standout performances. There was little jeopardy in results throughout the week, with most favourites getting the job done.

Short was arguably the swimmer of the meet, winning four events and showing the benefits of the demanding training regime designed by coach Damien Jones ahead of his second Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, Pallister was impressive on the women’s side. “To be able to throw down a 15:40 feeling as poor as I do, I’m happy with that,” she said of her 1500m freestyle victory on the final night.

Freestyle shapes as a major strength for Australia in Glasgow, with a clean sweep of gold medals in that stroke a possibility. The hardest will be in the men’s 200m freestyle.

Australia can enter three swimmers per event at the Commonwealth Games, compared with two in finals at the Pan Pacific Championships, for which a team was also named.

Allan, 17, booked his first Dolphins berth after claiming the men’s 100m backstroke title.

“Commonwealth Games is good in the sense where it’s not a world championship and not an Olympic Games so you don’t have the full depth of the world attacking you,” McEvoy said of the team’s rookies.

“It gives them one under the belt before they come in and do a world champs and then an Olympics in LA. I would probably say it’s the best year to be a rookie in a four-year cycle.”

The Dolphins, featuring both able-bodied and para athletes, will be chasing a record gold-medal haul in Glasgow, with the 28 wins on the Gold Coast in 2018 firmly within reach. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Australia’s swimmers collected 25 gold medals.

Australia’s prospects have also been boosted by an expanded swimming program. There will be 56 events in Glasgow — 42 able-bodied and 14 para — up from 52 in Birmingham and 50 on the Gold Coast.

Another advantage is the absence of Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh, who has elected to bypass the Commonwealth Games and focus on Pan Pacs.

The Australian team will depart on July 11 for a training camp in Germany before arriving in Glasgow on July 21.