Aussies banned from Olympics over new swimming law
Swimming's governing body has announced a blanket ban on any competitor that has taken part in the so-called 'Steroid Games'.
Officially called the Enhanced Games, the multi-sport event founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza enables athletes to take performance enhancing drugs and compete in banned suits, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas next year.
Former Australian world champion James Magnussen has become the public face of the Games, while compatriot and ex-swimmer Brett Hawke recently became the head coach of the Enhanced Games swimming team.
Both will now be banned, effective immediately, from any future participation in swimming events at the Olympics or world championships, after World Aquatics (WA) became the first governing body to move on the controversial proposal.
'Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,' World Aquatics president Husain al-Musallam said in a statement.
'This new bylaw ensures that we can continue to protect the integrity of our competitions, the health and safety of our athletes, and the credibility of the global aquatics community.'
WA also encouraged member federations, such as Swimming Australia, to 'adopt similar policies at the national level'.
Those that prepare for or take part in the Enhanced Games would also be ineligible to hold any position with the sport's governing body.
Australian swimming great Ariarne Titmus reiterated her stance condemning the juiced up Games on Triple M.
'It doesn't sit well with me,' the four-time Olympic gold medallist said on Mick in the Morning.
'I think about what message is this sending kids around the world? That it's OK to take performance-enhancing drugs?
'I firmly believe that it's not. I don't think it's a good thing to do. We don't know exactly the implications of taking these amounts of performance-enhancing drugs are going to have on our body, and morally, I don't agree with it.'
Magnussen announced earlier this week will tweak his doping and training regime for the Enhanced Games in a bid to win the revolutionary event after he was pipped in his quest to break the 50m freestyle world record.
The Australian swimmer has been the talk of the sporting world after wild images emerged of his massively bulked up physique standing behind the blocks for his world record attempt.
Magnussen, who has been retired for six years, has been taking a concoction of testosterone and peptides, among other substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), to try to break the 50m freestyle world record.
But the 34-year-old nicknamed 'the Missile' watched his dream of winning the US$1 million prize money go up in smoke after another swimmer beat him to it.
Greece's Kristian Gkolomeev – aided by undisclosed substances and a polyurethane suit not approved for Olympic use – broke the world record at an Enhanced Games competition pool in North Carolina in February.
Gkolomeev swam a time of 20.89 seconds, 0.02sec fastest than the longstanding supersuit world record held by Brazil's Cesar Cielo since the 2009 world championships.
A documentary crew, who many believed were only there to witness Magnussen shattering the elusive record, instead captured 31-year-old Gkolomeev's incredible swim resulting in a $1m windfall, just months after he finished fifth in the 50m final at the Paris Olympics.
But Magnussen will get another chance to claim the $1m payday he so craves at the inaugural Enhanced Games next year.
D'Souza has said the million-dollar prize will still on the table at the official Enhanced Games, which will take place from May 21-24 next year at Resorts World Las Vegas, with events in swimming, athletics and weightlifting.
Hawke is a two-time Olympian and medallist at the Commonwealth Games and shortcourse world championships during his career in the pool.
He was recently the head coach of singer-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson during his comeback to the sport.
The 50-year-old Hawke was appointed the head swimming coach of the Enhanced Games last month and has been flooding his Instagram page with videos and content on the concept.
He captioned one post: 'Just the suit and enhancements? Look deeper. You need skill and talent to swim faster than anyone in history.'
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