The idea is no longer just an idea. On Sunday, the first edition of the Enhanced Games will take place in Las Vegas. Around fifty athletes will compete in track and field, swimming, and weightlifting. The organizers promise a new era, one that will push the boundaries of performance by allowing the use of substances normally prohibited. And the Olympic Movement, extremely hostile to this concept, will be watching closely, hoping to find a way to counter it.
A handful of Olympic medalists were present.
In swimming, American Hunter Armstrong, a double Olympic medalist in Paris (gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay and silver in the 4x100m medley relay), Briton Ben Proud, Olympic silver medalist in the 50m freestyle and multiple world champion, and Australian James Magnussen, a three-time Olympic medalist, will be the headliners. On the track, the spotlight will be on Fred Kerley, the 2022 100m world champion and bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics. These are top athletes who have consciously decided to step back from competitive sports to dedicate themselves to this lucrative event: each world record will be rewarded with a check for one million dollars.
« To earn that much, I would have needed something like five or six careers. “,” explained Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, who was handsomely rewarded last year thanks to a time of 20,89 seconds in the 50m freestyle. Some chose to come, but without performance enhancers: this is the case of sprinter Tristan Evelyn. Given that the Enhanced Games model does not require athletes to adhere to their medical programs, I am grateful for the opportunity to achieve significant gains as a non-doping sprinter. " she commented. The Barbados Anti-Doping Commission nevertheless condemned her choice, recalling that the Enhanced Games went against the integrity of sport and the health of athletes.
"Dangerous and irresponsible"
The athletes who competed in Las Vegas have little chance of returning to the traditional circuit. World Aquatics has threatened to suspend any athlete, coach, doctor, or person involved in the Enhanced Games. The World Anti-Doping Agency has also spoken out, calling these Games " dangerous and irresponsible ", and assured that she will encourage anti-doping organizations to test the athletes involved before, during and after this event, in order to protect the integrity of legitimate sport ».
WADA also calls on all governments and law enforcement agencies to assess whether athletes who admit to using performance-enhancing substances – or doctors who provide or administer these substances – might be breaking criminal laws or professional rules, either in their own country or wherever the event takes place. ».
The event will be broadcast on the North American streaming platform Roku, as well as on YouTube. We decided not to sell our media rights. We wanted these Games to be as accessible and easy to watch as possible. No subscriptions, no geographical restrictions. What was really important to us was maximizing our audience. " explains co-founder Max Martin to FOS that holds the top spot. " We decided not to sell our media rights… perhaps because no one was interested. ", quipped former IOC marketing director Michael Payne about X. Revealing of a certain skepticism.
