Latest news with #Olympics-style
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Anti-doping bodies condemn ‘dangerous' drug-fueled Enhanced Games
The Enhanced Games team attend a press conference to announce the event scheduled for May 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS LOS ANGELES – Anti-doping bodies on May 22 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 (S$322,000), 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 Games are an exercise in testing the boundaries of human performance. 'The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,' he said on May 21 as details of the Games were revealed. 'We are here to move humanity forward. 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 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, 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. '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 No. 1 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.' D'Souza, however, has pushed back on those criticisms, insisting that the competition would be conducted 'safely'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
News18
22-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
Olympics-Style Regulated Roid Rage? WADA Slams Drug-Fueled 'Enhanced Games'
Published By : Siddarth Sriram AFP Last Updated: Athletes will be allowed to use drugs that are banned across international sport, such as steroids and human growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving $250,000. (Credit: X) Anti-doping bodies on Thursday 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 organizers 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 that are banned across international sport, such as steroids and human growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving $250,000, and a bonus of $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. '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 jeopardize 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." 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. First Published:
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pro-doping Enhanced Games to debut in Las Vegas with Trump Jr backing
A controversial new Olympics-style sporting event where athletes will be permitted – and even encouraged – to use performance-enhancing drugs is set to debut in Las Vegas next May, organizers announced on Wednesday. The inaugural Enhanced Games will take place 21–24 May 2026 at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip. Over four days, competitors will race, lift and swim with full access to drugs and therapies banned in virtually every other elite athletic setting. Related: On your marks, get set, dope! Welcome to the Enhanced Games – the sporting event no one wants | Marina Hyde Billed as a revolution in sport and science, the event aims to embrace what organizers call 'superhumanity' – a future where pharmaceutical and technological enhancement is normalized in elite competition. But while promoters cast it as a bold break from the past, critics are already raising alarms about safety, fairness and the fundamental integrity of sport. 'We are creating a new category of human excellence,' the Enhanced Games' promotional materials declare. 'A world where performance-enhancing drugs are used safely, openly, and under medical supervision.' The pitch is simple but radical: rather than penalize athletes for using banned substances, normalize and study their use in a medically supervised environment. Under the Enhanced model, athletes can either compete naturally, follow independent enhancement protocols, or participate in a clinical trial using FDA-approved drugs designated as 'Investigational Medicinal Products'. The event's founder, the London-based Australian entrepreneur Aron D'Souza, argues that current anti-doping policies are outdated and hypocritical. 'The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,' he said. 'In the era of accelerating technological and scientific change, the world needs a sporting event that embraces the future – particularly advances in medical science.' Organizers promise extensive medical screening, individualized health profiling and oversight by independent scientific and ethics boards. But athletes will not be subject to traditional anti-doping tests. Instead, they must disclose what substances they're using – a model that some critics warn resembles 'don't ask, don't tell' for doping in sport. The first Games will be held at Resorts World in Las Vegas and feature sprinting, swimming and weightlifting. Prize money is substantial: up to $500,000 per event, including a $1m bonus for breaking the 100m sprint or 50m freestyle world records. That may not be a theoretical reward. In February, Greek-Bulgarian swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev recorded a time of 20.89sec in the 50m freestyle – 0.02sec faster than the official world record, which has stood since 2009 – reportedly while following an enhancement protocol for the first time. The swim, held at a certified pool under Olympic-level oversight, was filmed for a forthcoming promotional documentary. Yet even this demonstration comes with caveats. Gkolomeev wore a full-body polyurethane suit not approved by Fina, swimming's international governing body. Organizers claim the suit was commercially available and not decisive in the performance – but its inclusion underscores the ethical gray areas the Enhanced Games are poised to explore. More fundamentally, many observers are uneasy with the concept itself. 'As we have seen through history, performance-enhancing drugs have taken a terrible physical and mental toll on many athletes. Some have died,' the World Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement. 'Clearly this event would jeopardize [athletes' health and well-being] by promoting the abuse of powerful substances and methods that should only be prescribed, if at all, for specific therapeutic needs.' Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, was even more blunt. 'It's a dangerous clown show, not real sport,' he said. Related: 'Imagine if a 60-year-old broke Usain Bolt's record': the story behind the Enhanced Games, the Olympics where everyone dopes The Enhanced Games are also attracting attention, and controversy, due to the event's supporters. The latest funding round, reportedly in the millions, includes investment from 1789 Capital, a firm led by Donald Trump Jr, Omeed Malik and Chris Buskirk. Other co-leads include Apeiron Investment Group and Karatage, a hedge fund with stakes in cryptocurrency and AI ventures. A video announcing the funding suggests Donald Trump's endorsement. D'Souza described the involvement of Trump-aligned investors as a natural fit. 'I've had the great fortune of working alongside many members of the administration and other prominent figures of the Trump movement over the years,' he said in February. 'To know that some of the most significant figures in American social and political life support the Enhanced Games is more important to us than any investment.' Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire known for his libertarian politics and backing of controversial biotech ventures, is also listed as a major investor and 'close advisor', according to D'Souza. The participation of such figures has drawn further scrutiny from critics who view the Enhanced Games as not only a break from the Olympic model, but a calculated provocation – a challenge to elite sporting institutions, anti-doping agencies and what D'Souza has called the 'anti-science' bent of legacy sports governance. Organizers maintain they are not trying to overwrite Olympic records or discredit traditional sport. Instead, they frame the Enhanced Games as a parallel category, akin to the professionalization of sport in the 20th century. The goal, they argue, is to explore the boundaries of human potential while provoking a broader cultural conversation. It's an ambitious vision – and a high-stakes gamble. Athletes from around the world are being recruited, including some who felt alienated by anti-doping regimes. Former swimming world champion James Magnussen is among them, though the Australian's recent enhanced attempts fell short of record times. The organizers, now headquartered in New York, say they will not tolerate abuse of illicit substances. Drugs must be legally prescribed and athletes must be medically fit to compete. Still, enforcement appears to rely more on partnership than oversight – a feature, not a bug, according to the Enhanced team. 'There are always risks in elite sport,' reads one of the Games' internal FAQs. 'We believe the greater risk is pretending those risks don't exist.' Whether the public buys into that logic remains to be seen. Organizers say they are in talks with major sponsors and streaming platforms, but have not confirmed any broadcast partners or marquee athletes beyond a handful of early adopters. If backlash builds – from federations, governments or regulators – it's unclear whether the model will survive its first test. For now, though, the Enhanced Games are moving ahead, armed with a defiant slogan: Live Enhanced. Whether the world embraces that vision or recoils from it may determine not just the future of one event, but the ethical limits of sport itself.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pro-doping Enhanced Games to debut in Las Vegas with Trump Jr backing
A controversial new Olympics-style sporting event where athletes will be permitted – and even encouraged – to use performance-enhancing drugs is set to debut in Las Vegas next May, organizers announced on Wednesday. The inaugural Enhanced Games will take place 21–24 May 2026 at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip. Over four days, competitors will race, lift and swim with full access to drugs and therapies banned in virtually every other elite athletic setting. Advertisement Related: On your marks, get set, dope! Welcome to the Enhanced Games – the sporting event no one wants | Marina Hyde Billed as a revolution in sport and science, the event aims to embrace what organizers call 'superhumanity' – a future where pharmaceutical and technological enhancement is normalized in elite competition. But while promoters cast it as a bold break from the past, critics are already raising alarms about safety, fairness and the fundamental integrity of sport. 'We are creating a new category of human excellence,' the Enhanced Games' promotional materials declare. 'A world where performance-enhancing drugs are used safely, openly, and under medical supervision.' The pitch is simple but radical: rather than penalize athletes for using banned substances, normalize and study their use in a medically supervised environment. Under the Enhanced model, athletes can either compete naturally, follow independent enhancement protocols, or participate in a clinical trial using FDA-approved drugs designated as 'Investigational Medicinal Products'. Advertisement The event's founder, the London-based Australian entrepreneur Aron D'Souza, argues that current anti-doping policies are outdated and hypocritical. 'The Enhanced Games is renovating the Olympic model for the 21st century,' he said. 'In the era of accelerating technological and scientific change, the world needs a sporting event that embraces the future – particularly advances in medical science.' Organizers promise extensive medical screening, individualized health profiling and oversight by independent scientific and ethics boards. But athletes will not be subject to traditional anti-doping tests. Instead, they must disclose what substances they're using – a model that some critics warn resembles 'don't ask, don't tell' for doping in sport. The first Games will be held at Resorts World in Las Vegas and feature sprinting, swimming and weightlifting. Prize money is substantial: up to $500,000 per event, including a $1m bonus for breaking the 100m sprint or 50m freestyle world records. That may not be a theoretical reward. In February, Greek-Bulgarian swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev recorded a time of 20.89sec in the 50m freestyle – 0.02sec faster than the official world record, which has stood since 2009 – reportedly while following an enhancement protocol for the first time. The swim, held at a certified pool under Olympic-level oversight, was filmed for a forthcoming promotional documentary. Advertisement Yet even this demonstration comes with caveats. Gkolomeev wore a full-body polyurethane suit not approved by Fina, swimming's international governing body. Organizers claim the suit was commercially available and not decisive in the performance – but its inclusion underscores the ethical gray areas the Enhanced Games are poised to explore. More fundamentally, many observers are uneasy with the concept itself. 'As we have seen through history, performance-enhancing drugs have taken a terrible physical and mental toll on many athletes. Some have died,' the World Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement. 'Clearly this event would jeopardize [athletes' health and well-being] by promoting the abuse of powerful substances and methods that should only be prescribed, if at all, for specific therapeutic needs.' Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, was even more blunt. 'It's a dangerous clown show, not real sport,' he said. Advertisement Related: 'Imagine if a 60-year-old broke Usain Bolt's record': the story behind the Enhanced Games, the Olympics where everyone dopes The Enhanced Games are also attracting attention, and controversy, due to the event's supporters. The latest funding round, reportedly in the millions, includes investment from 1789 Capital, a firm led by Donald Trump Jr, Omeed Malik, and Chris Buskirk. Other co-leads include Apeiron Investment Group and Karatage, a hedge fund with stakes in cryptocurrency and AI ventures. A video announcing the funding suggests Donald Trump's endorsement. D'Souza described the involvement of Trump-aligned investors as a natural fit. 'I've had the great fortune of working alongside many members of the administration and other prominent figures of the Trump movement over the years,' he said in February. 'To know that some of the most significant figures in American social and political life support the Enhanced Games is more important to us than any investment.' Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire known for his libertarian politics and backing of controversial biotech ventures, is also listed as a major investor and 'close advisor', according to D'Souza. Advertisement The participation of such figures has drawn further scrutiny from critics who view the Enhanced Games as not only a break from the Olympic model, but a calculated provocation – a challenge to elite sporting institutions, anti-doping agencies and what D'Souza has called the 'anti-science' bent of legacy sports governance. Organizers maintain they are not trying to overwrite Olympic records or discredit traditional sport. Instead, they frame the Enhanced Games as a parallel category, akin to the professionalization of sport in the 20th century. The goal, they argue, is to explore the boundaries of human potential while provoking a broader cultural conversation. It's an ambitious vision – and a high-stakes gamble. Athletes from around the world are being recruited, including some who felt alienated by anti-doping regimes. Former swimming world champion James Magnussen is among them, though the Australian's recent enhanced attempts fell short of record times. Advertisement The organizers, now headquartered in New York, say they will not tolerate abuse of illicit substances. Drugs must be legally prescribed, and athletes must be medically fit to compete. Still, enforcement appears to rely more on partnership than oversight – a feature, not a bug, according to the Enhanced team. 'There are always risks in elite sport,' reads one of the Games' internal FAQs. 'We believe the greater risk is pretending those risks don't exist.' Whether the public buys into that logic remains to be seen. Organizers say they are in talks with major sponsors and streaming platforms, but have not confirmed any broadcast partners or marquee athletes beyond a handful of early adopters. If backlash builds – from federations, governments or regulators – it's unclear whether the model will survive its first test. For now, though, the Enhanced Games are moving ahead, armed with a defiant slogan: Live Enhanced. Whether the world embraces that vision or recoils from it may determine not just the future of one event, but the ethical limits of sport itself.
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Oxford transplant recipient has 'incredible transformation'
A tennis and squash enthusiast is set to take part in the British Transplant Games in his home city, less than three years after he received a new Lawton from Oxford underwent a liver transplant in 2022, having been diagnosed with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) 16 years before. He is now planning to compete when the Olympics-style event for athletes who have received an organ donation takes place in Oxford this summer."I've gone from this place where I couldn't walk up the stairs at home, and now I'm able to compete," he said. He was largely unaffected by PSC for more than a decade, before his condition took a turn for the worse in 2019 and he was eventually placed on the transplant waiting about his condition, Mr Lawton told BBC Oxford: "What's so bizarre about it is I had 13 years where it didn't [affect me] and I just got on with life."He recalled how we went "very rapidly" from feeling well and healthy to something "not being quite right".He was referred to the Royal Free Hospital in London, but said things actually improved, before his condition deteriorated again in 2022 and he was placed on the transplant waiting Lawton said: "There's this battle between wanting to be well, but actually knowing you're going to have to get really ill before you get so bad that you need the transplant. "Your life is on hold because you don't know how long it's going to be." After four months on the list, Mr Lawton received a transplant."I got 10 minutes with my wife and kids so we just prayed together, cried together and I said goodbye. I was very fortunate to get a new liver and be here today," he Lawton added he had an "incredible transformation" since his days after his surgery and still in intensive care, Mr Lawton signed up to join Transplant Active - the group that organises the annual British Transplant multi-sport festival, which features more than 1,000 athletes, all of whom have received organ transplants.2025's event is due to take place in Oxford from 31 July - 3 Lawton said the "amazing event" was "about promoting organ donation, and we [the competitors] are there as a testimony to 'this saves lives". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
