China urges sports bodies to reject 'gladiator show' Enhanced Games, China News
The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has denounced the Enhanced Games on Friday (May 23) and called on the global sports community to collectively oppose the competition that endorses the use of banned substances.
The Enhanced Games will debut in May 2026 in Las Vegas with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda for athletes using substances banned in official competition, to the dismay of anti-doping bodies like the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Participants could earn prize money totalling up to US$500,000 (S$642,400) per event plus bonuses for surpassing a world record mark.
CHINADA denounced the event in a statement to state news agency Xinhua on Friday, calling it "a distorted competition that turns pure sports competition into a drug contest, which serious(ly) contradicts the purpose of the World Anti-Doping Code."
"It severely threatens the physical and mental health of athletes as well as the spirit of sport. In addition, its publicity tactics reveal its nature as a capital-driven initiative.
"CHINADA hereby expresses our firm opposition to any attempt to portray doping as so-called scientific advancements, and calls on the global sports community to stand united in rejecting the Enhanced Games."
The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competitions does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance. Organisers have called on athletes to join the competition.
However, CHINADA said the Enhanced Games organisers lure athletes with high prizes into risking their health and feeding public appetite for a "gladiator show".
[[nid:718349]]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Straits Times
US judge approves settlement allowing NCAA schools to pay athletes
The approval resolves long-running litigation between the NCAA and student athletes. PHOTO: REUTERS NEW YORK – A United States judge on June 6 granted final approval to a US$2.8 billion (S$3.6 billion) settlement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that will allow schools for the first time to compensate student athletes for past and future commercial use of their names, images and likenesses. The settlement, approved in a ruling by US District Judge Claudia Wilken in the Oakland, California, federal court, resolves long-running litigation between the NCAA and student athletes. 'Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes,' Wilken wrote. She also said that the deal will 'permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports'. The ruling marked a 'historic day for college sports and the rights of athletes', the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, said in a statement. In a statement, NCAA president Charlie Baker welcomed the judge's ruling. 'Student-athletes will benefit from the rich opportunities they enjoy now, plus far more scholarship opportunities, landmark financial benefits and a streamlined NCAA to support them,' he said. The NCAA denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The deal faced dozens of objections that it did not adequately compensate athletes or was unfair in other ways. Objectors to the deal now can appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The settlement, covering hundreds of thousands of current and former students since 2016, resolved three lawsuits that claimed NCAA rules barring payments to athletes violated US antitrust law. The US$2.8 billion will cover past damages. The plaintiffs' lawyers previously estimated the deal would provide tens of billions of dollars to class members over the next 10 years. Schools will be allowed to pay athletes from funds that universities receive from broadcasts and other commercial sources. The NCAA in April convinced a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss a lawsuit seeking compensation for thousands of former student athletes who played team sports in college prior to 2016. Those students have filed an appeal. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
India police arrest two after deadly cricket stampede: Reports
People walk past scattered shoes left behind following a stampede outside a cricket stadium in Bengaluru, India, on June 4. PHOTO: REUTERS BENGALURU - Indian police arrested two people including a senior executive at IPL-winning cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru after 11 fans were crushed to death during victory celebrations, local media reported on June 6 . Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets in the southern tech city Bengaluru on June 4 to welcome home their hero Virat Kohli and his RCB team-mates after they beat Punjab Kings in a thrilling final of the Indian Premier League. But the euphoria of the vast crowds ended in disaster when 11 mainly young fans died in a stampede near the city's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the players were parading the trophy. Media outlet India Today said June 6 that Nikhil Sosale, RCB's head of marketing, was arrested at the Bengaluru airport. The Indian Express newspaper reported Mr Sosale was arrested, along with an executive from the event management company DNA. The reported arrests come hours after Karnataka state's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that 'legal action has been taken against the representatives of RCB', as well as the event organisers, and the state's cricket association. Mr Siddaramaiah said a first information report, which marks the start of a police investigation, had been 'registered against them'. Local media reported that the charges include culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, among others. Mr Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, said top police officers in Bengaluru, including the city's police commissioner, have been suspended. 'These officers appear to be irresponsible and negligent, and it has been decided to suspend them,' Mr Siddaramaiah said. The dead were mostly young fans, aged between 14 and 29, who were among a sea of people who had poured onto the streets to catch a glimpse of their heroes. RCB offered financial aid of US$11,655 (S$14,975) to each family of those killed, calling the deaths 'unfortunate'. Indian media have widely reported the team earned US$2.3 million in prize money alone for taking the title on June 4 . Kohli, who top-scored in the final, said he was 'at a loss for words' after celebrations of a dream IPL crown turned to tragedy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident 'absolutely heartrending'. Mr Siddaramaiah said earlier that the stadium had a capacity of 'only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business Times
Olympic swimming great Ian Thorpe robbed of watches, jewellery
[SYDNEY] Australian Olympic swimming great Ian Thorpe has had watches, jewellery and sentimental items worth nearly US$100,000 stolen from his Sydney home, his manager said on Friday. His Olympic medals, which include five golds, were not taken and there were no obvious signs of a break-in, Thorpe's manager James Erskine said. The estimated cost of the stolen items was about A$150,000 (S$126,090), Sydney radio station 2GB said. 'He called up his insurers, they said go and make a police report,' Erskine told 2GB. Thorpe reported the matter to New South Wales Police on Thursday, sparking an investigation, but there was no further information, police said in a statement. Thorpe, nicknamed 'Thorpedo', won five gold medals, three silvers and one bronze. He retired aged 24 in 2006 before an ill-fated comeback attempt saw him fail to make the cut for London 2012. AFP
