Latest news with #CesarCielo
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
World Aquatics to ban anyone from Enhanced Games
World Aquatics has become the first international federation to ban athletes, coaches and officials from its events if they have taken part in the controversial Enhanced new event promotes banned performance-enhancing drugs and the inaugural Enhanced Games are scheduled to take place in Las Vegas from 21-24 May are plans for it to be an annual competition, initially comprising short-distance swimming, sprinting and month, Enhanced Games organisers said Greece's Kristian Gkolomeev swam 20.89 seconds in a 50m freestyle time trial in the US in February, 0.02 seconds quicker than the world record set by Brazil's Cesar Cielo in Aquatics said it has introduced a new bylaw "that reinforces its steadfast commitment to clean sport".It added: "Under the new bylaw, individuals who support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods will not be eligible to hold positions with World Aquatics or to participate in any World Aquatics competitions, events, or other activities. "This ineligibility would apply to roles such as athlete, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, or government representative."World Aquatics said it also encouraged its member associations to "adopt similar policies at the national level to uphold consistent standards across the sport".The Enhanced Games has been criticised for endangering athletes' health and undermining fair play, with the World Anti-Doping Agency describing it as a "dangerous and irresponsible project"., externalHowever, it has also attracted heavyweight backing from a venture capital fund headed up by Donald Trump Jr, the US president's son, and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel."Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events," said World Aquatics president Husain al Musallam. "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."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie Olympic star James Magnussen reveals the surprising truth behind shocking photo taken after he bulked up by doing performance-enhancing drugs
Aussie swimmer James Magnussen has learned that performance-enhancing drugs are not the magic ticket to riches this year and has opened up on how his recent doping body transformation actually made him slower. Magnussen won silver in the 100-metre freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics and gold at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships before retiring from the 'clean' versions of the sport in 2019. His personal best of 47.10 seconds made him the fastest swimmer ever in a textile suit at the time. Now the former world champion has announced his plan to compete in the Enhanced Games, a controversial event that encourages performance-enhancing drugs, which are banned in traditional sport. Magnussen said he would use banned substances to attempt a 50-metre freestyle world record and was poised to achieve that result earlier this year - only to be upstaged by Greece 's Kristian Gkolomeev. The Aussie was lining up at an Enhanced Games meet in the United States to promote the upcoming event where $1million was on the line for anybody who could break the 50m world record. Gkolomeev clocked 20.89 seconds, boosted by banned substances and a non-Olympic-approved polyurethane suit - 0.02 seconds quicker than the supersuit world record set by Brazil's Cesar Cielo at the 2009 world championships. And The Missile, speaking on the Hello Sport podcast, was not happy about losing out on the $1million USD challenge he had been aiming for himself. 'Kristian cruises in after eight weeks of protocol. He gets up and bam, breaks the world record in the week that supposed to be about me breaking this world record,' Magnussen said. 'It was a really weird feeling, it was really mixed emotions. 'I love Kristian, he's a great guy. He's had a really tough life, lost both parents. That million dollars for him was him was completely life changing. It was more money that he'd ever made in his entire swimming career. 'So I was happy for him but that was meant to be me doing that. That was a hard moment.' The Aussie will have another chance to claim the title and the cash when he competes the first official Enhanced Games next year. But he admits there will be plenty of tweaking to both his training and doping regime before then. But the Aussie said that quickly went backwards as he became too top-heavy and recorded worse times in the pool than when he was not doping Images have emerged of Magnussen looking more like He-Man than the lean body that earned him the nickname The Missile before he retired from the sport six years ago. And he admits there had been issues with taking the performance-enhancing drugs to bulk up for the pool. 'I gained 10 pounds, or five kilos, in the first week, of lean muscle,' the Missile revealed. 'There was points during that process where my athleticism was through the roof. 'For the first seven weeks I was in the [United] States, I trained twice a day, every day. So 49 days straight, 98 sessions straight with no rest. 'The most relevant for swimming at certain periods were box squats. So you squat down to like a bench, sit on the bench and then stand up with the barbell. 'I was doing that with 500 pounds, which is about 230 kilos, just sets of three, bouncing like it was nothing. 'And so what we saw was performance tracked like this, really steeply. It plateued around that Christmas time, and then it started to decrease.' Magnussen admits he had bulked up too much when the photos were taken and will need to find balance to achieve his best result in the pool. 'I started getting too big, my nervous system's fried, I'm having trouble with that top end speed stuff, from that explosivity, and my metrics start trending down.
Daily Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
James Magnussen's ominous warning as staggering transformation comes to light
Don't miss out on the headlines from Swimming. Followed categories will be added to My News. Australian swimming star James Magnussen has sent a warning to the rest of the world: get on board or be at risk of missing out. Magnussen has caused quite the stir in the swimming community with his decision to join the Enhanced Games, telling The Guardian that he 'feels 18 again' after taking testosterone, peptides and banned drugs, including BPC-157, CJC-1295 and the growth hormone ipamorelin. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. His hopes of winning $US1 million may have already gone up in flames, with Greek Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev beating the world record held by Cesar Cielo on his way to the top prize, but Magnussen is still glad to have made the move to the drug-fuelled Games. You can watch Kristian Gkolomeev beating the world record in the player above. In fact, he warned in an interview with AAP that he will be just the first of many Australian athletes to join the event, which openly encourages athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs in a bid to win prize money. The event is not just isolated to swimming and will also include athletes across multiple sports such as track and field and weightlifting. 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. James Magnussen has shown off his insane transformation. Image: Enhanced Games James Magnussen at the Rio Olympics. Image: Adam Head 'The most common response I hear from current athletes is, if this all goes ahead the way we believe it will in the first year, then we're very interested to join,' Magnussen told AAP. 'Because the opportunity to set yourself up for life just isn't there at the moment in that swimming world. But it's very clear that opportunity is available with the Enhanced Games.' Magnussen is one of the faces of the Games along with Gkolomeev. Both men were followed by cameras in a documentary titled '50 Meters to History: The First Superhuman', which followed the pair in their bid to break the fastest record in swimming. Magnussen has his fair share of critics, with Olympic great Ariarne Titmus declaring his name is 'a bit mud' while Cam McEvoy, who won gold for Australia in the 50m freestyle at the Pairs Olympics, voiced his concerns in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald. 'It doesn't count in any way, shape or form when you take drugs or wear one of the banned suits, or both,' McEvoy told the Herald. James Magnussen is targeting breaking the 50m world record. 'It's got no relevance to Olympic or World Championship 50-metre comps, or to the international rankings around them.' Magnussen though told the publication that if he was McEvoy, he would see the opportunity to race in the Enhanced Games as a 'no-brainer'. '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. 'At this point for Cam, he sees it like a sideshow. If you stayed in the testing pool the whole time [by continually agreeing to take drug tests], then it shouldn't be an issue. It seems like a free hit.' However, McEvoy's concerns with the event went far beyond its legitimacy, with the 31-year-old also questioning the 'unknown potential cost' it will have on Magnussen's long-term health. 'I understand there are some measures being put in place around the safety of those athletes throughout this process,' he said. 'But there are long-term negative health effects associated with maximised PEDs and further still, a lot of unknowns around just how serious those effects are.' It is a point that Dr Naomi Speers, the director of research at Sport Integrity Australia, made in an interview with the Herald after Magnussen openly revealed the PEDs he had taken ahead of the Enhanced Games, which is set to debut in Las Vegas next May. 'We tried a few different things,' Magnussen told The Herald. 'The base of it was testosterone and then peptides. We used BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and thymosin.' In the Enhanced Games documentary, his fiancée Rose's father Justin McEvoy said his 'main concern' was Magnussen's health. 'He definitely confirmed with me he was getting totally medically checked out,' McEvoy added. 'That turned me around. The fact he's healthy.' Magnussen went on to explain that he's getting blood tests and body scans once a month, while he also has his own dietician, strength and conditioning coach, doctor, endocrinologist and heart specialist. 'We've covered every base,' he added. Originally published as James Magnussen's ominous warning to sporting world as staggering transformation revealed
France 24
23-05-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Swimming champ McEvoy says Enhanced Games 'record' means nothing
Kristian Gkolomeev claimed to have blitzed the 50m freestyle in 20.89 seconds in February, eclipsing the official current record time of 20.91 set in 2009 by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo. Greece's Gkolomeev has been taking performance-enhancing drugs while training for next year's Enhanced Games and was also wearing a special swim suit that would breach Olympic standards. "It doesn't count in any way, shape or form when you take drugs or wear one of the banned suits, or both," said McEvoy, who won 50m freestyle gold at the 2024 Paris Games. "It's got no relevance to Olympic or world championship 50-metre comps, or to the international rankings around them." The first edition of 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. Anti-doping authorities on Thursday lined up to condemn the event. WADA, the global anti-doping watchdog, called it "a dangerous and irresponsible concept". Aron D'Souza, the Australian entrepreneur behind the event, said it was an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance. Winners stand to reap $250,000, and a bonus of $1 million for anyone who breaks a world record.
