Australian swimming stars slam ‘juiced up' Enhanced Games farce
Australian swimmers Ariarne Titmus and Cam McEvoy have lashed out at the Enhanced Games in the wake of a world record being broken.
The controversial competition was thrust back into the spotlight this week when it was revealed Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev had broken the 50m freestyle world record.
Gkolomeev – aided by undisclosed substances and a polyurethane suit not approved for Olympic use – toppled the mark at an Enhanced Games competition pool in North Carolina in February.
The 21-year-old touched the wall in 20.89 seconds to beat the 20.91 world record set by Cesar Cielo in 2009 to snare a US$1m (A$1.56m) prize.
The record breaking swim, which won't be officially recognised by World Aquatics, didn't sit well with Titmus who said it was deflating for athletes who are following the rules.
You can watch Gkolomeev breaking the 50m world record in the player at the top of the page.
'I actually saw that this morning – I've never heard of this guy in my life, but he broke the men's 50m freestyle world record juiced up,' she said on Nova 100's Jase & Lauren.
'I was looking at it on my phone … this is a bit of a kick in the bum to any athlete who's ever worked their whole life to train.
'Everyone's obviously able to have their own opinion, but I don't like it.'
An exasperated Titmus added that she and fellow 'clean' athletes have to go through so much and keep in constant communication with drug testers.
'We have to go through so many processes to be clean. All the whereabouts, the drug testing, saying where we sleep every night for the drug testers to arrive,' she said.
'You've got to do so much to make sure you're clean. It's just, I don't know... '
McEvoy, who won the 50m freestyle gold at the Paris Olympics, voiced his concerns over the Enhanced Games and questioned the meaning behind it all.
'It doesn't count in any way, shape or form when you take drugs or wear one of the banned suits, or both,' McEvoy said to The Sydney Morning Herald.
'It's got no relevance to Olympic or World Championship 50-metre comps, or to the international rankings around them.'
Retired Australian swimmer James Magnussen, who is the face of the controversial Enhanced Games, famously announced his mission to 'juice to the gills' and win the $1m cash prize by breaking the 50m world record on performance enhancing drugs while appearing on the Hello Sport Podcast.
'If they came to the party with $1 million for the [50m freestyle] world record, I would 100 per cent do it,' Magnussen said last February.
The 34-year-old recently called on McEvoy to join him at the inaugural Games which will take place from May 21-24 next year at Resorts World Las Vegas.
'If I was Cam and I was going to be able to put a suit on and race for $US1 million – plus be paid as an athlete – for me it would be a no-brainer,' Magnussen said in an interview with The Age.
'I get it. The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport at the moment and it's what we all strive towards. At this point for Cam, he sees it like a sideshow. People will realise that Enhanced Games is the real deal.
'It's happening. It's not just hypothetical. The money's there. There will be a flood of athletes coming over in year two.'
Around 100 athletes are expected to compete at the inaugural event next year, with many competitors' names kept secret until closer to the event.
The Enhanced Games plans to pay $US250,000 for each gold medal and $US1 million to anyone who breaks a world record in the 100m sprint or the 50m freestyle.
The Games will have four swimming events, the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m butterfly.
While in athletics there will be the 100m sprint and 100m hurdles.
Athletes can choose to remain 'natural' or enhance their performance with substances – under the watchful eye of Enhanced Games medical staff.
'The Enhanced Games welcomes athletes across three categories: natural athletes, independently enhanced athletes, and athletes enhanced through protocols designed and supervised by our medical team,' Aron D'Souza said in a statement announcing the Games on Thursday (AEST).
'We live in a world transformed by science – from vaccines to AI. But sport has stood still. Until today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
41 minutes ago
- ABC News
Australian Olympic champion Jess Fox claims World Cup canoe gold in Spain
Australia's Olympic champion Jess Fox has won the women's C1 event at the World Cup leg in La Seu, Spain. The result gave Fox her 34th World Cup gold in the C1. "I'm super happy with that final. It was great to get out there and put out a fast run. It's a tricky course in La Seu," Fox said. Fox had missed the K1 final on day one in La Seu. But she bounced in the C1 to finish more than four seconds ahead of silver medallist Miren Lazkano of Spain. Fox achieved the win despite attracting a two-second penalty. Adding to the significance of her victory was the fact she had qualified ninth for the 12-paddler final. "I wanted to come back today and put down some good paddling," Fox said. "To win on the first World Cup is a great start but still four more races to go for the World Cup series and then the World Championships is the main goal of the year." The World Championships will be held in Penrith in October. Fox has won the Olympic C1 gold at the past two Games in Paris and Tokyo. She also took out the K1 final in Paris last year.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Australian Turf Club partners with Hong Kong Jockey Club in landmark deal for their slot in The Everest
The Australian Turf Club's decision to lease their Everest slot to Hong Kong Jockey Club for at least two years is a coup for Sydney racing. The deal ensures that barring injury or some unforeseen circumstance, the world's number one-ranked racehorse, Hong Kong's superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising, will contest the Group 1 $20 million The TAB Everest at Royal Randwick on October 18. Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes has also indicated Ka Ying Rising will stay in Sydney for the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill Gardens two weeks later. ATC will benefit financially from the World Pool, the international commingling parimutuel betting operation which is managed by HKJC and will be available to punters on Everest Day. There is also speculation the World Pool will be added to more Sydney race meetings next season, most notably Golden Slipper Day which boasts five Group 1 races. HKJC executive director of racing, Andrew Harding, told Hong Kong media the club has secured the ATC's Everest slot for two years with an option to extend. 'For this year, the club will use the slot to enable Ka Ying Rising to take part in The Everest,'' Harding told South China Morning Post. 'In future years, we will use the slot to either facilitate a Hong Kong horse running or to target Australian or New Zealand sprinters to come onto the Hong Kong International races after The Everest.'' â– â– â– â– â– Ka Ying Rising joins Briasa (slot holders Max Whitby, Neil Werrett and Col Madden) and Private Harry (Yulong) as confirmed Everest starters. Sunshine In Paris, owned by Everest slot-holder John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds, is also being set for the big race. The world’s best sprinter is coming to Australia! Ka Ying Rising will race for new slot-holder the Hong Kong Jockey Club ðŸ¤� Here he is making it 12-straight wins, dominating the Chairman’s Sprint ðŸ'¥ â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 4, 2025 This leaves eight slots remaining and competition for an Everest start will be fierce – but not everyone is happy. A leading Sydney trainer contacted At The Track incensed that ATC had not used their slot for an 'ATC trained horse'. 'Surely that's the idea of a slot,'' the trainer said. 'That's like Wayne Bennett picking a player from another club for the grand final. What a disgrace.'' The trainer's disappointment is understandable but the financial benefits to ATC for leasing their slot HKJC and having the World Pool alignment on Everest Day is considerable, and the club wants the best possible field for the world's richest turf race so securing Ka Ying Rising was the number one priority. â– â– â– â– â– Is Coolmore's three-year-old filly Minnie Hauk, winner of the English Oaks yesterday, the most valuable potential broodmare still racing? Minnie Hauk, a daughter of English superhorse Franke l and closely related on her dam's side to another champion, Kingman, was purchased for about $A4 million as a yearling at the Goffs Orby Sale and her Oaks win means she is now a priceless broodmare once her racing days are over. Minnie Hauk takes the Oaks (G1)! â€' IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) June 6, 2025 The regally-bred Minnie Hauk gave Irish training genius Aidan O'Brien his 11th Oaks win when she defeated her stablemate Whirl. â– â– â– â– â– The US triple crown isn't on the line but the final leg of the famous series, the Belmont Stakes, takes on special significance with the return clash of Godolphin's Sovereignty and Coolmore's Journalism in New York on Sunday morning. Sovereignty won an epic Kentucky Derby from Journalism last month but missed the second leg, the Preakness Stakes. In his absence, Journalism scored an incredible Preakness win and is early favourite with TAB Fixed Odds for the Belmont at $2.60 with Sovereignty pressing at $2.80.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Watching women's sport not just for women: Experts talk on levelling the playing field
In 2023, a nation held its breath as the Matildas took on England in the FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal. What followed wasn't just a gripping match, it became the most-watched television broadcast in Australian history. A post-tournament social impact report from Football Australia revealed that 44 per cent of the audience comprised men and boys. For the first time, a women's football game outperformed every other program ever aired in the country, breaking the myth that women's sport only appeals to women. Former Matilda and lawyer Moya Dodd says we have come a long way in the past decade. "Ten years ago, no one would have believed it," she told ABC International Development's Women in News and Sport, at the recent RCB Innovation Lab Sports Summit in India. Women's sport has been marketed primarily to women, and that marketing often focuses on empowerment rather than excellence. But Dodd said the skill, determination, and passion on display deserves universal respect, regardless of the gender of those on the field. She said boys were already growing up idolising athletes like Sam Kerr, the same way they do male stars. "When young boys see professionalised women's sport, they accept it as normal," Dodd said. "They'll happily wear a jersey with Sam Kerr's name on it. "There is no social stigma." In India, the Women's Premier League (WPL) is emerging as a game-changer. The second season in 2024 reached more than 103 million TV viewers, with digital platforms like JioCinema drawing millions more. Brands are investing big: Viacom18 signed a $117 million deal for WPL rights, one of the most lucrative ever for a women's league. But framing isn't the only challenge. Dodd said structural barriers persisted across leadership, infrastructure, and media. "Sport was built by men, for men, and run by men," Dodd said. "You can't just retrofit women into those systems. You need to redesign them." Sarah Walsh, head of women's football at Football Australia, and a former Matildas player, said the Matildas' rise was made possible by constitutional changes in 2018 that brought more women into decision-making roles. "We wouldn't have had the success we did, equal pay deals, post-World Cup legacy funding, without women in the room deciding where the money goes," she told WINS. Dodd said although there had been ground made, there were other areas that needed to evolve. "Storytelling is still skewed toward men's sport," Dodd said. "We need commentary and coverage that welcomes new audiences, not one that constantly compares women's sport to men's." She stressed that female voices in broadcast and journalism played a vital role in shaping public perception. Both Dodd and Walsh indicated that with the right leadership, inclusive policies, and a reframing of how women's sport was presented, there was significant opportunity for growth and equity. They both believe growth on the field translates to growing the game off it. Walsh said infrastructure remained a silent but critical barrier to participation, with a number of community football facilities still not female friendly. "You're not going to retain girls if they simply can't get dressed," Walsh said. Meanwhile, teenage dropout rates among girls are high due to issues ranging from lack of safety to body image concerns. Major events like the Women's World Cup helped boost participation by 20 per cent, but retention is still a hurdle. Recent trends in viewership and sponsorship suggest that interest in women's sport is not limited by gender. It delivers economic, cultural, and social returns. With the Matildas' semi-final appearance in 2023 and the growing viewership of WPL, sponsorships have increased, new demographics are being reached, and male audiences are growing across markets. "Women's sport brings audiences that have come to celebrate inclusion and a sense of social purpose. And this audience includes people of all genders and ages," Dodd said. Dodd and Walsh believe these developments raise a broader question — no longer whether women's sport has a place, but whether existing structures are prepared to meet the growing potential. Veechika Durga Pingali is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru, India, with experience in both journalism and public relations. She has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and enjoys writing about gender, media and sports. Veechika is part of ABC International Development's Women in News and Sport Initiative, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Team Up program.
