What are the Enhanced Games and why are they controversial?
The multi-sport Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug tests.Those behind the proposal claim it will be the 'Olympics of the future', allowing athletes to take drugs in a bid to break 'world records'.Founder Aron D'Souza believes athletes should be entitled to do what they wish with their own bodies.But the Australian businessman's concept has been heavily criticised for the potential impact on athletes' health, and undermining fair play.UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) said last year its mission was "to protect sport from doping cheats". It added: "There is no place in sport for performance-enhancing drugs, nor the Enhanced Games."At a launch event on Wednesday, Las Vegas was announced as the host of the inaugural Enhanced Games, which will run from 21-24 May 2026.Organisers said that under their permitted conditions, Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev had gone quicker than the 50m freestyle world record, which has stood since 2009.
How have the Enhanced Games come about?
D'Souza's idea has been backed by a venture capital fund which includes Donald Trump Jr - the son of the US president - and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel.It was first launched as a concept in 2023, when it was presented as an opportunity to beat world records for cash prizes up to $1m (£746,570).World Athletics president Lord Coe has said taking part would be "moronic", and any competitor would face a lengthy ban.D'Souza said his concept - which he wants to make an annual feature - was "truly extraordinary" and "shaping the future".The first Enhanced Games will consist of events in short-course swimming, sprinting and weightlifting.
Are there limits on substances competitors can take?
Participants are permitted to use some substances that are banned from elite sport, but cocaine and heroin are among those banned.Only substances approved by the United States' Food and Drug Administration, external (FDA) can be taken. That is a different list to the one the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) allows for elite athletes.
Who will compete at the Enhanced Games?
Gkolomeev is among those who will compete.Ukrainian swimmer Andriy Govorov, who holds the world record for the 50m butterfly, and Bulgaria's Josif Miladinov - a European silver medallist in the 100m butterfly - have also signed up.Australian former world champion James Magnussen came out of retirement to join the Enhanced Games in 2024.This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
What is Ask Me Anything?
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.
More questions answered...
Has F1's iconic Monaco Grand Prix become boring?What does Hotspur mean?What is World Sevens Football?When did the New York Knicks last win the NBA Championship?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Run It Straight: neuroscientist fears ‘supercharging' of backyard lark into social-media fuelled collision contest
Two big blokes thunder towards each other. One tucks in for a tackle, his solid shoulder connecting with his opponent, just under his chin. His opponent goes down, his heavy limbs flopping to the ground. He doesn't get back up. The MC tries to hold back the Campbelltown crowd – many of them small children – to let the medics through. This is the Run It Straight challenge, a brutal new competition and – thanks to social media – a deadly new craze. From a rugby-inspired back yard game, it's become an organised activity with thousands of dollars in prize money. And millions of views online. Even as more is discovered about concussions, the long-term effects such as cognitive impairment and the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Run It Straight is soaring in popularity. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Each violent encounter – just 30 seconds or so – is tailor-made for social media. 'We've got guys running at each other [with enough force] to cause a brain injury,' concussion expert and neuroscientist Alan Pearce says. 'They are supercharging and exploiting the most violence aspects of the tackle in rugby league, and turning up the dial.' It may have originally come from something kids from the Pacific Island diaspora did,a back yard lark. But now it's organised, with at least two Australian groups running competitions in New Zealand and Australia, their social media posts running hot. There is the 'official' Run It Straight group, which was established in 2024. That's the one that posted that Campbelltown event, describing it as a 'war zone'. 'Campbelltown didn't hold back – four knockouts, heavy hits, and bodies dropping left, right and centre,' the YouTube caption said. 'Full contact. No headgear. No mercy.' Then there's the much slicker RUNIT Championship League, which was registered in February. 'RUNIT is the world's fiercest, new collision sport,' the website boasts. 'Born to go viral, built to break limits, it has taken social media by storm with tens of millions of views. 'One runner. One tackler, A 20m x 4m battlefield. Victory belongs to the one who dominates the collision.' Now amateurs are giving it a go. At a recent Manly Eagles match, fans filmed a guy chugging a beer before pelting down a hill into another guy. And on Tuesday, a New Zealand teenager died from a head injury after playing a tackle game with friends that police said was 'based on a social media-driven trend, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear', a trend NZ media said was the Run It Straight challenge. Pearce, a Swinburne University professor, says he is genuinely stressed witnessing the collisions. 'We know two things,' he says. 'One is that that there are longer term outcomes in terms of cognitive impairment … for those exposed to a lot of impact to the brain, the risk and severity of CTE is greater. 'And, from a younger person's perspective, the concern is around second impact syndrome. If a younger person has an injury but doesn't understand they've got a concussion and then a second later they get a second impact, that's catastrophic.' Pearce says it's like watching a 'car crash in action' with participants potentially experiencing more than 100Gs of force. RUNIT said the teenager's death was 'tragic' and that contact sports should only be held in 'highly controlled environments, which include professional medical supervision and support'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion RUNIT did not respond to an interview request. On their Instagram page, RUNIT writes that 'safety is paramount'. 'We are committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of every athlete who represents our brand,' the post says. 'We recognise that competing at the highest level comes with physical risks, and we firmly believe that no athlete should bear the burden of those risks alone.' RUNIT covers all medical expenses 'directly related to injuries sustained while competing', it says, and compensates them for any wages lost. Run It Straight 24 organiser, Christian Lesa, told Triple J's Hack program this week the tackling game had been happening for 'ages', that people do it at church events, at family gatherings. 'A lot of the boys do it when they get on the piss,' he said. He went on to outline the rules – nothing above the collarbone, and if you get 'dazed' or hit on the head, you're out. 'We have paramedics and ambulance on standby … just in case anything happens,' he said, adding that for future events they'll have headgear and mouth guards, 'to make sure that everyone does participate with us safely, in the safest way possible'. Elizabeth Summerell, a psychologist and lecturer at the University of Adelaide specialising in anger and aggression, says the trend could reflect 'deeper social and cultural pressures tied to masculinity'. She points to research that found younger Australians are more likely endorse 'traditional masculine norms like physical toughness, dominance, risk-taking, and status seeking'. As well as 'performing this masculinity', she says, there is a strong pressure to conform in order to be liked, to avoid looking weak, to reinforce their group membership and gain status. 'So even though the risks may be obvious, the social rewards, like status and belonging, may be more powerful than the threat of injury,' she says. 'And for young people who may be sensitive to approval from their peers, social media may amplify these processes further. Social media platforms don't just serve to document these acts, but likes and shares become a kind of social currency. 'In this way, social media is not just reflecting the trend but also fuelling it.' Pearce wonders whether it appeals to 'the most primitive parts of our brains that feed off violence'. 'All I can do is be a grumpy neuroscientist that says 'just don't do it'.' Back at the Campbelltown game, the MC takes a break from revving up the crowd to speak about someone with mental health issues who died. 'To you young ones,' he says, 'make sure you look after yourselves.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Are Jai Opetaia and Justis Huni looking past this weekend's opponents in order to fight each other?
Australian fighters Jai Opetaia and Justis Huni have said they would like to fight each other in the future. The pair, both of whom fight this weekend on DAZN, have said that they are already in discussions for a $20m all-Australian blockbuster match. Both men share the same manager, Mick Francis, who told Fox Sports Australia, that a fight between the pair is already 'guaranteed'. Francis told Fox Sports Australia: 'Jai and Justis will be fighting inside somewhere like Suncorp Stadium within three, four years. I guarantee it.' Suncorp Stadium is in Brisbane, Queensland, and has a capacity of 52,500. It is where Manny Pacquiao travelled to fight Jeff Horn in 2017. He added: 'While both guys have tremendous respect for each other -- love each other and will help the other out as much as they can -- they also know that this event will be the biggest domestic fight Australia has ever seen. Two heavyweights from opposite sides of the border fighting for a world title, it will be huge. But before that happens, they both have to do their own things in their respective divisions.' This weekend, Opetaia will face Italian Claudio Squeo in a cruiserweight title fight in Broadbeach, Australia. Huni, meanwhile, has travelled to England to face Fabio Wardley at the Portman Road stadium in Ipswich. Despite the big-fight plans for Opetaia and Huni, the pair still have to win their respective matches. Huni, 12-0 (7), is the b-side in his fight against Wardley. However, as DAZN wrote the other day, the 6'4' Australian comes off a glittering amateur career and even fought ten rounds in his debut for the Australian heavyweight title. Since then, Huni has fought steadily, picking up a host of regional titles. He has travelled, too, visiting Mexico and Riyadh in recent fights. His last fight was in the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Australia – the same venue that Opetaia fights at this weekend. Opetaia, on the other hand, will face Italian Claudio Squeo over twelve rounds in a defence of his IBF title. The IBF cruiserweight champion won his title in 2024 with a decision over Mairis Briedis in Riyadh. He then returned to Riyadh to defend it against Jack Massey, before stopping David Nyika in four rounds at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Before any fight takes place between Huni and Opetaia, both need to win this weekend. Not only that, but Opetaia has made it clear that he hopes to unify the cruiserweight titles before any move northwards. To do that, he will need to fight – and defeat – Badou Jack and Gilberto Ramirez. Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Judy Murray predicts son Andy's next career move after shock coaching split from Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray 's mother - Judy - has weighed in on what her son's potential next career step could be after his short-lived coaching partnership with Novak Djokovic. The two-time Wimbledon champion and his former rival shocked the tennis world at the end of last year with the announcement that the newly retired Murray would be joining the Serbian's set-up. Initially announced for the Australian Open, Murray took up his spot in Djokovic's box at his tune-up tournament at the start of the season in Brisbane. Djokovic enjoyed a strong showing in Melbourne - notably beating young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals - before he was forced to retire during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev through injury. But after an unsteady showing on clay, marked by first-round exits at Monte-Carlo and Madrid, the pair decided to call time on their partnership last month. And now, Judy has revealed the initial reason behind her son's decision to coach Djokovic, and how the stress he endured while in the role may force him to take a short break before immersing himself in the tennis world so soon. 'Andy had just retired and wasn't looking to go into coaching but he stepped in because Novak asked him,' she told The National. 'When they joined up, I was certainly interested to see how he got on being on the other side of things and realising how stressful it can be. I don't think he's ready to jump straight back into coaching, though, because the tennis circuit is relentless.' Judy went on to predict that her son may look for another mentoring role in tennis, perhaps away from full-time traditional coaching. The 65-year-old added: 'I can see him doing a consultant type role with young players and he's already done a lot of mentoring with the British players on the men's side who are coming through, but I can't see him being a full-time tennis coach.' Judy, a tennis coach herself, explained that her three-time Grand Slam-winning son would likely prefer some time with his children before coaching again. Her 'guess' is that he will not make an immediate return to the sport in any capacity. 'There's more to life than jumping straight back into the tennis rat race after nearly 20 years as a player. I don't think he'll necessarily want to jump back onto that merry-go-round – not when you're someone who's got four kids to taxi around and you want to get your golf handicap to scratch. 'Whether he does it in the future, I don't know – that's for him to answer and I actually don't think he knows the answer either but my guess is not right now.' Murray has already taken up a non-tennis role since ending his partnership with Djokovic. The Scot shifted his interests back to the business world last month, and was announced as a new associate partner at Redrice Ventures - a London-based venture capital fund. Under the company's aegis, Murray will help launch the Redrice Sports Collective, a group of athlete advisors and 'key decision-makers in sport' shaping investment opportunities. Murray already has a stacked investment portfolio which includes his hotel in Scotland, Cromlix, padel tennis court developers Game4Padel and crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
