Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell has revealed her distress when Mack Horton staged his world titles anti-doping protest in South Korea, knowing that Shayna Jack had tested positive.

But one of the few others who knew about Jack’s plight at the time, Australian team head coach Jacco Verhaeren, says he didn’t feel awkward and would have joined Horton’s podium protest if he could.

Russell on Sunday described Jack’s positive drug test as bitterly disappointing and embarrassing for the national swimming team, the sport and the country.

She said confidentiality required by SA’s agreement with national anti-doping body ASADA didn’t allow it to reveal Jack’s test after the 20-year-old star was notified and sent home from the team training camp in Japan, citing personal reasons.

Australian team swimmers competing at the world championships in South Korea weren’t told until the news broke on Saturday, a month later.

Russell said she understood Jack had been planning to reveal the positive test on her A sample later this week, after the world titles ended, when it would not be a distraction for the Dolphins.

But Russell acknowledged feeling “distressed” when Horton staged a podium protest last weekend against controversial Chinese star Sun Yang, who served a 2014 doping ban.

Asked if she had her “head in her hands” when Horton failed to acknowledge Sun, Russell said: “Yes, it was such a difficult one.

“I absolutely support Mack. He’s entitled to say and do on an issue that he is passionate about and we are too, this has not changed our thinking on a zero-tolerance approach or our policy.

“But I certainly was watching Mack (protest), distressed about what would befall both Shayna and Mack in the coming days and week (once positive test broke).”

Verhaeren did not believe Jack’s positive test had tarnished Horton’s protest message and claimed the Olympic champion would still have done it if he knew about Jack’s test.

“The question is going to be asked ‘should he have done that?’,” Verhaeren said in Gwangju.

“I think yes because that is a totally different subject as well. This is about someone standing up for clean sport and we still do that.

“If the meet started tomorrow with this knowledge he would stand there again and if I could I would stand next to him.”

Swimming Australia has been castigated for not having an official address the media at the world championships on Saturday once the story broke.

As a result, swimming team leader Cate Campbell was left to face the media on Saturday.

“I do accept the criticism that we did not have an official speak poolside last night and that Cate Campbell spoke on behalf of our team. That was my call,” said Russell.

“In retrospect we could have done that differently but I do want to acknowledge Cate and her leadership and our team.”

The substance Jack tested positive to has not been revealed and that may not be made public for months, unless the swimmer chooses to announce it, as the matter is bound by confidentiality while it is investigated.

“We’re not expecting a very quick resolution to this process,” said Russell.

Jack says she would never knowingly take a banned substance and has no idea how she came to test positive.

Russell said Jack was at home in Brisbane with plenty of family support and was also being supported by SA.