Anti-doping bodies condemn ‘dangerous' Enhanced Games allowing performance-enhancing drugs, warn of health risks
LOS ANGELES, May 23 — Anti-doping bodies yesterday condemned plans for the first edition of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, an Olympics-style event where athletes will be free to use performance-enhancing drugs.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and bodies across the world have taken aim at the event after organisers revealed the date, venue and format for the competition.
The Enhanced Games will be staged in Las Vegas in May 2026, with athletes participating in three sports — athletics, swimming and weightlifting.
Athletes will be allowed to use drugs which are banned across international sport such as steroids and human growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving US$250,000 (RM1 million), and a bonus of US$1 million for anyone who breaks a world record.
Aron D'Souza, the Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of the event, says the Enhanced Games are an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance.
'The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,' D'Souza said on Wednesday as details of the games were revealed.
'We are here to move humanity forward,' D'Souza said. 'The old rules didn't just hold back athletes, they held back humanity.
'We are not just organising competition, we are in the business of unlocking human potential. We are the vanguard of super-humanity.'
The Enhanced Games will take place from May 21-24 at the Resorts World hotel in Las Vegas.
Swimming will hold 100m and 50m freestyle events, along with 100m and 50m butterfly.
Athletics events include the 100m and 100m and 110m hurdles. Weightlifters will compete in the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines.
Wada, the global anti-doping watchdog, on Thursday condemned plans for the event as 'dangerous', voicing concern it could lead athletes around the world to dabble in illicit substances with potentially deadly consequences.
Athlete and swimmer James Magnussen attends a press conference to announce he will be joining the new 'Enhanced Games' team, in Las Vegas, Nevada May 21, 2025. — Reuters pic
'Dangerous, irresponsible'
'Wada condemns the Enhanced Games as a dangerous and irresponsible concept,' the agency said in a statement. 'The health and well-being of athletes is Wada's number-one priority.
'Clearly this event would jeopardise that as it seeks to promote the use of powerful substances and methods by athletes for the purposes of entertainment and marketing.
'There have been many examples of athletes suffering serious long-term side-effects from their use of prohibited substances and methods. Some have died.'
Travis Tygart, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), said the event was a 'dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.'
Australia's anti-doping body, Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), also condemned the risks posed to athletes participating in the Enhanced Games.
'We work to ensure that sport is safe and fair to all,' SIA chief executive Sarah Benson said in a statement. 'The Enhanced Games is promoting the complete opposite and poses a significant risk to athlete health and safety.'
Usada's chief science officer, Matt Fedoruk, highlighted that many substances had been banned in conventional sporting events because they were proven to be dangerous.
'These things aren't just banned because they're effective at making athletes stronger or faster,' Fedoruk said in a post on Usada's website.
'Many are banned because they've been proven to be dangerous for athletes, with some harmful side effects being potentially irreversible.'
Enhanced Games founder D'Souza however has pushed back on those criticisms, insisting that the competition would be conducted 'safely'.
'We live in a world transformed by science — from vaccines to AI,' said D'Souza.
'But sport has stood still. Until today. We are not updating the rulebook — we are rewriting it. And we're doing it safely, ethically, and boldly.'
The Enhanced Games have received financial backing from investors who include billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel as well as investment firm 1789 Capital, in which Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. — AFP
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