Peris has denied the allegations to The Australian and claimed there was a flaw in the process of the positive test from October last year. She said a blood test taken at the same time as the urine test was negative as was a second test two days later. Peris, the oldest daughter of former Hockeyroo and Olympic sprinter Nova Peris, had jumped into Commonwealth Games calculations after making dramatic improvements in the 100m and 200m in recent months, with the 27-year-old clocking several personal-best times. Peris ran a Commonwealth Games B-standard qualifying time in the 200m just before Christmas and continued that form when she ran 11.41s to beat Australian teenage star - and new 100m and 200m national title holder - Riley Day at a meet in Brisbane on January 7. She then went to Canberra where she beat national record holder Mel Breen in the 100m but was just beaten by Maddie Coates in the 200m. She was due to return to Canberra for the ACT Track Classic recently but pulled out of the event after being informed she had tested positive. Nova Peris, a former AA ambassador, has recently been bullish on social media about her daughter's performances, tweeting about her "awesome" performances.

It is understood Jess Peris will appeal the positive results and her mum had wanted to have her daughter run at the national titles at the weekend given the matter was subject to appeal. Jessica had spent time out of athletics after her relationship with NRL star Shaun Kenny-Dowall, which ended with accusations of domestic violence in court in 2016. The charges against the former Sydney Roosters centre were dismissed, with magistrate Gregory Grogin criticising Jessica Peris, saying her evidence in court was "calculated, evasive and intentionally framed". But during that tumultuous time the Darwin-based Peris rediscovered her passion for athletics and decided to go to the US to train with sprint coach Darrell Smith at UCLA. Darrell Smith is the nephew of John Smith, who coached her mum Nova. "It's pretty fulfilling to be able to do what I'm doing - being a young, indigenous, single mum - and I'm living my dreams," Peris told the NT News in 2016. "I'm embracing every opportunity that comes my way and it's been a rollercoaster but I believe I'm a resilient person - knock me down and I'll get back up."

Jessica Peris has more recently set up a training base on the Gold Coast at the Oceania Centre. Nova Peris was the first indigenous Australian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal when she was in the Hockeyroos team that triumphed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She then tried her hand at sprinting, and took gold in the 200 and 4 x 100 relay at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. She also ran in the 400 and 4 x 400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Peris was an Australian senator, and was later considered by the AFL as a replacement for Jason Mifsud as the league's head of diversity. With AAP