Enhanced Games is finally here - causing dismay and intrigue
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- Enhanced Games schedule their inaugural competition this weekend in Las Vegas, featuring athletes who will compete while using performance‑enhancing drugs banned by the World Anti‑Doping Agency.
- Athletes attended a three‑month training camp in Abu Dhabi, where they received individualized “enhancement protocols” that included testosterone, anabolic steroids such as methenolone and nandrolone, HGH, EPO, metabolic modulators and stimulants, all administered under medical supervision as part of a clinical trial.
- Organisers claim the substances are FDA‑approved and that participants are monitored, while the International Olympic Committee and WADA denounced the event as “immoral” and “dangerous,” and World Athletics president Lord Coe called participants “moronic.”
- World Aquatics became the first governing body to ban anyone involved in the Enhanced Games from its events.
- Prize: a $1 million reward is offered to any athlete who breaks a world record during the competition.
Why it matters: Athletes win $1 million and revive careers, while the IOC, WADA and World Aquatics lose authority as the event normalizes banned substances, reshaping anti‑doping enforcement globally.
