Enhanced Games in Las Vegas allow performance-enhancing drugs despite health and record objections

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to "beat" a world record Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men's 50m freestyle at the divisive event where competitors were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81sec -- which is not considered official -- came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organisers who had predicted that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was also wearing a synthetic "supersuit" long banned at events such as the Olympics, went faster than Australia's Cameron McEvoy's mark of 20.88 set in March. "It was a great race... I got it," said Gkolomeev, who pocketed a $1 million bonus for the unofficial record. "Maybe next year I'll break it again." The Enhanced Games have been denounced as dangerous by athletics governing bodies and anti-doping agencies, citing serious health risks for participants. Participants, lured by prize money including $250,000 for event wins, included Olympic medallist swimmers James Magnussen, Cody Miller and Ben Proud. Co-founder Max Martin had predicted "quite a few" world records would be "beaten." The night turned out to be littered with near-misses until Gkolomeev's dramatic triumph. Britain's Proud won the men's 50m butterfly in 22.32sec, just 0.05 off the world mark. "We all know what we came for. And that's world records. And so, to be that agonisingly close, it's frustrating," said the Paris 2024 silver medallist. Gkolomeev earlier clocked 46.60sec in the 100m freestyle, missing the world record of 46.40. "I think tonight, yes, we did expect a few more world records to happen. But at the end of the day, this is live sports, and this is always something that you can never plan for," Martin told AFP. "We've had certain injuries today with athletes that couldn't participate because of that," he added.   - Clean athletes win -   More than a dozen personal bests were set, including several by athletes who came out of retirement. US swimmer Miller rolled back the years to win the 50m men's breaststroke, telling the crowd he was delighted to shave "seven-tenths off my personal best at 34." But while the vast majority of the 42 competing sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters were taking typically banned substances such as testosterone and anabolic steroids, the handful who opted to compete clean also achieved wins. The men's 50m backstroke was won by Hunter Armstrong in 24.21sec, the clean swimmer defeating two rivals who had taken performance-enhancing drugs. "Unenhanced" sprinters Fred Kerley, of the United States, and Tristan Evelyn, of Barbados, won the 100m sprints. Kerley ran 9.97sec in the men's, while Evelyn achieved 11.25 in the women's. "Man, they got to do better than that. They need to train a little harder. Get on that shit a little bit more," joked Kerley, a former 100m world champion who is serving a suspension for missing drug tests. Weightlifters Beatriz Piron, Boady Santavy and Wesley Kitts all attempted unprecedented snatch lifts in their categories, but fell short -- despite organisers bending the rules to give the two men a fourth attempt each. "Man, if I had about four more weeks (in training) I'd say I'd have had a good shot at it," said Kitts. Hafthor "Thor" Bjornsson, better known as "The Mountain" in "Game of Thrones", could not quite break his own deadlift record of 510kg.   - Long-term fears -   Donald Trump Jr and billionaire Peter Thiel were among the investors for the event, which took place at a lavish purpose-built arena in a Las Vegas casino parking lot. Health experts warned that several of the substances being taken could risk "life-shortening and fatal consequences," including heart, liver and kidney issues, as so little is known about the long-term effects of doping. Enhanced Games officials said all medications were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Parent company Enhanced sells many of the substances being taken by its athletes to the public. Barbados Tristan Evelyn (3L) cheers as she wins the women's 100m next to Jamaica's Denae McFarlane (L) and US's Shania Collins (2L) during the Enhanced Games at Resorts World in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, 2026. The first-ever Enhanced Games -- widely dubbed the "Steroid Olympics" -- take place Sunday in Las Vegas, where elite sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters will vie for world records while taking banned performance-enhancing drugs. (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP)

"Think Olympics on steroids. Literally," quips the BBC, describing Sunday's controversial Enhanced Games event in Las Vegas featuring dozens of athletes "using performance-enhancing drugs to try and break world records in track, weightlifting and swimming. Some $25m (£18.6m) in prize money is up for grabs — with cash prizes for winners... The drugs they use must be legal, and approved by the Federal Drug Administration. But substances like testosterone and human growth hormone — banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency — are not only celebrated here, they're encouraged and for sale... Health experts warn that anabolic steroids and growth hormones can cause strokes and cardiovascular damage, among other risks. Event organisers claim Enhanced will push the limits of human performance while critics, especially in the Olympic movement, dismiss it as an affront to the spirit and founding principles of competitive sport... Earlier this month, the Enhanced Group — the company behind the competition — began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. And the competition is seemingly being treated as an opportunity for Enhanced to sell performance-enhancing medicine and supplements online. "The project was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D'Souza and Maximilian Martin in 2023," the artidcle points out, "and has attracted backing from prominent investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr." And NPR adds that "Most of the participating athletes trained for the competition in Abu Dhabi, as part of Enhanced's own study." Enhanced did not break down what specific athletes used which drugs, but they announced on Wednesday in the lead-up to the event that 91% of the athletes competing used testosterone or testosterone esters, 79% used human growth hormone, and 62% used stimulants, such as adderall... The games have been largely panned by outside medical experts and sports governing bodies. Multiple recent studies assess the harm surrounding the Enhanced Games. Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, called the games a "dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle" in a statement. The International Olympic Committee said the games are a "betrayal of everything that we stand for." The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last year urged U.S. authorities to stop the games. The International Federation of Sports Medicine said in 2024 that they see the medical oversight as "insufficient" to support the athletes. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Juiced-up athletes gathered in Las Vegas on Sunday for the first-ever Enhanced Games, where organisers predict world records will be unofficially "beaten" by competitors using performance-enhancing drugs that have sparked health concerns. Around 40 sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters have spent the past four months in Abu Dhabi taking combinations of testosterone, human growth hormone, peptides and anabolic steroids -- all banned by events like the Olympics. The event, starting at 3:35 pm (2235 GMT) and streaming on YouTube and Roku, has been denounced by athletics governing bodies and anti-doping agencies as dangerous and against the spirit of sport. But participants, lured by prize money of up to $1 million for beating world records, will include Olympic medallist swimmers James Magnussen, Cody Miller and Ben Proud, who have all taken drugs. Hafthor "Thor" Bjornsson, best known for playing "The Mountain" in "Game of Thrones," will try to break his own deadlift record. Former 100m sprint champion Fred Kerley will be one of the few athletes competing without drugs at the event. Max Martin, chief executive officer and co-founder, has predicted multiple world records will be "beaten," though the feats will not be officially recognised. Weightlifters Beatriz Piron and Arley Mendez surpassed world records in training, he told a press conference on the eve of the event. "Hopefully they'll be able to do it tomorrow as well, and then we'll see a few more," said Martin. "My guess is we'll see quite a few." Swimmers will also be allowed to wear the types of "supersuits" that led to many world records falling around the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but were subsequently prohibited. Chief sporting officer Rick Adams said that he respects that "specific international organisations" will not accept any records set on Sunday, even if they are broken by clean athletes like Kerley. "But it is uncontroverted that if one of our 50m freestyle... moves through that water in less than 20.88 seconds, they have moved through that water faster than any other human being in history," he said, referring to Cam McEvoy's official record. The Enhanced Games are taking place at a purpose-built $50 million arena in a Las Vegas casino parking lot, a structure to be dismantled hours after the final race. In a marriage of sports, biohacking, politics and entertainment, investors including billionaire Peter Thiel are rumored to be attending, while rock band The Killers will play a closing set. Donald Trump Jr is among the event's investors. Health experts warn that several of the substances could risk "life-shortening and fatal consequences," including heart, liver and kidney issues, as so little is known about their long-term effects. But Enhanced Games officials say all medications are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and no expense has been spared on hiring top medical experts. Emergency officials will be standing by in case something goes wrong. "I'm reasonably confident nothing will happen," said chief medical officer Guido Pieles. Pieles described the risk of the medications as "clearly there" but "really manageable." His team has published the percentage of athletes taking each substance, with Martin vowing that "transparency is core to our DNA." Yet athletes said that they are not able to disclose the specific combinations each has taken. "The reason for that is that actually it doesn't matter," Martin told AFP, noting that combinations are tailored to each athlete. Also, parent company Enhanced -- which sells many of the substances being taken by its athletes to the public -- does not want to "advertise for certain protocols to create imitation potential," said Martin.