Latest news with #KristianGkolomeev
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
World Aquatics to ban participants of controversial Enhanced Games
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev is one of the names involved in the new competition. - Enhanced Ltd. World Aquatics, the governing body for all aquatic sports, has introduced a new rule that will ban those who participate in the controversial Enhanced Games. The Enhanced Games says it is an 'alternative' to the Olympics and will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. Participants will not be tested and will be under no obligation to declare which substances they have taken in order to compete. Advertisement The inaugural games will take place in May 2026 and include events from swimming, weightlifting and athletics. On Tuesday, World Aquatics released a statement introducing the new bylaw, which will be in effect immediately. '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,' the federation said in a statement. 'This ineligibility would apply to roles such as athlete, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, or government representative.' Advertisement World Aquatics added that it would ban people on a case-by-case basis, while also encouraging federations at a national level to adopt a similar stance. '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.' In response to the ban, Enhanced Games' president and founder Aron D'Souza said his organization stands with 'athletes and their support teams.' Advertisement 'At the Enhanced Games, athletes have what traditional federations never gave them: choice, fairness, and real money,' he said in a statement sent to CNN Sports. Kristian Gkolomeev has already gone under the current world record in the men's 50m - Enhanced Ltd. 'We offer a medically supervised, safety-focused, science-driven arena – where performance is rewarded, not policed by outdated ideology. 'This ban isn't about protecting athletes. It's about protecting a monopoly.' Since the start of the controversial program, Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev swam the men's 50 meters freestyle in 20.89 seconds, shaving 0.02 seconds off the long-standing world record, per Reuters Gkolomeev finished fifth in the same event at the Paris Olympics last year. Advertisement But the competition has been widely criticized, including by those from a health perspective. Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, who exposed Russia's state-sponsored doping program – a massive, years-long effort which benefited more than 1,000 athletes between 2011 and 2015 – previously said that the new event is a 'danger to health, to sport.' Similarly, Travis Tygart, the CEO at the United States Anti-Doping Agency, previously told CNN Sports that the concept was 'a dangerous clown show, not real sport.' In the statement sent to CNN Sports Wednesday, the Enhanced Games said: 'Our mission is to protect and improve athlete well-being for those pushing the limits of human performance, and we have extensive safeguards in place to ensure we uphold this value.' For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
New York Times
19 hours ago
- Health
- New York Times
World Aquatics bans athletes who participate in Enhanced Games
World Aquatics has banned any athlete, coach or official from participating in their events if they have endorsed or competed in the Enhanced Games. The federation, that governs swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming, water polo, and open water swimming, is the first to adopt a no tolerance policy in the face of the new competition that allows athletes to compete and train using performance-enhancing drugs. Advertisement The new World Aquatics bylaw came into effect on Tuesday. The federation president Husain Al Musallam said in a statement: 'Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events. '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.' This comes after Enhanced claimed Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev set two 50m freestyle world records in May, earning a $1m bonus in the process. The president and founder of Enhanced Games, Dr Aron D'Souza, responded by questioning the intentions behind the ban. He said in a statement to The Athletic: 'This ban isn't about protecting athletes. It's about protecting a monopoly. 'World Aquatics hasn't paid its athletes for decades. Now, faced with real competition and real momentum, they've fallen back on threats and bullying tactics.' He maintained that the Enhanced Games will give the athlete something that the federations cannot: 'At the Enhanced Games, athletes have what traditional federations never gave them: choice, fairness, and real money. 'We offer a medically supervised, safety-focused, science-driven arena – where performance is rewarded, not policed by outdated ideology.' The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has condemned the new competition as a 'dangerous and irresponsible concept'. The organisation said the new competition would jeopardize the health and well-being of athletes — their main responsibility — as it seeks to 'promote the use of powerful substances and methods by athletes for the purposes of entertainment and marketing.' Enhanced has been financed by a venture capital fund backed by Donald Trump Jr and billionaire Peter Thiel since it was founded in 2023. The controversial organisation's inaugural competition is due to take place in Las Vegas between May 21-24, 2026 and spans five sports: track and field, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, and combat sports. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images)
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
World Aquatics bans Enhanced Games athletes from its competitions
World Aquatics has banned athletes who participate in or show support for the controversial Enhanced Games from competing in its competitions. The Enhanced Games is a new multi-sport competition which allows its athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs, claiming that the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) only serves to limit their sporting achievement. The inaugural Enhanced Games is planned to take place in Las Vegas in May 2026. The idea has been widely denounced by the sporting community, and World Aquatics has now taking action by introducing a new bylaw that will prevent any athlete or official involved in the Enhanced Games from competing or holding posisions in the sport. The move comes after a Greek swimmer 'broke' the world record. With the help of the controversial programme, Kristian Gkolomeev swam the men's 50m freestyle in 20.89 seconds to shave 0.02 seconds off the long-standing record set by Brazil's Cesar Cielo in 2009. Gkolomeev, who has competed at four Olympics and came fifth in the event at the Paris Games last year with a time of 21.59 seconds, said he had gained 'an extra 10 pounds of muscle' before the attempt. Enhanced Games had declined to disclose which performance enhancements the 31-year-old used. 'Individuals who support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices ... will not be eligible to hold positions with World Aquatics or to participate in any World Aquatics competitions, events, or other activities,' World Aquatics said. The practices can include either prohibited substances or prohibited methods. 'This ineligibility would apply to roles such as athlete, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, or government representative,' the governing body added. The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competitions does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance, and called on athletes to join the competition. The Wada had condemned the Enhanced Games as 'dangerous and irresponsible', while Olympic 50 metres freestyle champion Cam McEvoy said Gkolomeev's time was 'irrelevant' to the sport. 'Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,' World Aquatics president Husain Al Musallam said. '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.' The Enhanced Games has set its inaugural competition for May 2026 in Las Vegas, with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda. Its president and founder, lawyer Aron D'Souza, responded in a statement by suggesting it would support its athletes should they make a legal challenge to compete in World Athletics competitions. 'At the Enhanced Games, athletes have what traditional federations never gave them: choice, fairness, and real money,' he said. 'We offer a medically supervised, safety-focused, science-driven arena - where performance is rewarded, not policed by outdated ideology.'
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
MAHA's Credibility Crisis Is Only Going to Get Worse
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a massive, outrageous, pork-filled abomination of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. And, if you're feeling generous, please take this quick survey to help make this newsletter slightly less abominable. Issuing a correction is standard practice in journalism. Yesterday, for instance, there was a minor error in the 13th paragraph of my newsletter: Swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev received $1 million after 'breaking' the record for the men's 50-meter freestyle, not the 100-meter, a fact that has since been corrected online. I'm not telling you this because I think you stayed up all night practicing for the 100-meter freestyle. I'm telling you because I want you to trust me and the good people working at Bloomberg Opinion.
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."
