The Sad Story of Cyclist Jobie Dajka

The troubled life of Jobie Dajka has come to a sad, predictable, possibly even inevitable end. The former track cycling star was found dead in his home on Tuesday evening.

Dajka’s stellar career started with a silver medal in the team sprint at the 1998 World Championships, followed with World and Commonwealth Championships in the sprint and keirin over the next four years.

He went on to claim World Championship podium finishes up until 2005. The sky, as they say, was the limit.

But, like a character from a Shakespearean tragedy, Dajka was to engineer his own downfall. His involvement in the doping scandal surrounding Mark French was the beginning of the end.

Despite being involved with French and track stars Graeme Brown, Shane Kelly, and Sean Eadie, it was French and Dajka who bore the brunt of the allegations.

Dajka maintained his innocence throughout the subsequent Anderson enquiry; however, DNA evidence implicated him in the use of inject-able substances, including equine growth hormone.

Whether he was guilty of taking banned or illicit substances is immaterial. He was found to have lied to the Anderson enquiry and was subsequently dropped from the Australian team for the Athens Olympics.

Interestingly, while Dajka’s appeal was dismissed, French’s appeal was upheld and he was cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence. Dajka turned to alcohol to help him cope.

From then on, he was on a downward spiral, eventually getting involved in a physical altercation with Australian national coach Martin Barras. This led to a three-year ban and some time in a mental health ward.

Dajka had his professional licence reinstated in 2006 after fulfilling the requirements of medical intervention and community service. But the damage had been done and Dajka was unable to recapture the on-the-track form that had brought him to prominence.

The circumstances of his death are not yet clear; however, there are not many reasons for a healthy 27-year-old to die. The conclusions seem obvious.

This brings to prominence the way we, the media and fans, treat our athletes. We push them hard and demand victories. We don’t do so well when things go off the rails. Rather than using counseling or rehabilitation, we turn to punishment.

Interestingly, Jobie Dajka contacted Nick D’Arcy’s family earlier this year, warning them to watch out for their son’s well-being in the wake of his court case.

It seems a pity there was no one around to offer the same support to Jobie. Maybe there’s a lesson in this sad situation for all of us.