The Enhanced Games launched as a concept in 2023, with some doping measures permitted under medical supervision.
Only substances approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be taken, which is different to the list the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) allows for elite athletes.
Organisers have claimed the event “will deliver transparency and health safety by removing the stigma of enhancement – bringing its responsible usage into the light, within an approved medical framework, and one that protects athletes who would otherwise risk their health by operating in the dark to circumvent punitive structures in place today”.
However, the event has been criticised for endangering athletes’ health and undermining fair play, with Wada describing it as a “dangerous and irresponsible project” and Travis Tygart, chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, calling it a “clown show”.
Earlier this month, UK Athletics (UKA) said it did not recognise the Enhanced Games as a “legitimate sporting competition”.
UKA said it “places athletes’ health and welfare at serious risk”, adding that “any event that promotes or permits the use of harmful substances with the aim of pushing the human body to its limit for short-term goals is not sport as we value it”.
The Enhanced Games are planned to be an annual competition, initially comprising short-distance swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, with the inaugural event set to be held in Las Vegas on 24 May 2026.
The event offers appearance fees and bonuses, with Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev receiving a prize of $1m (£739,000) for beating a world record time in the US in February 2025.
Organisers said he swam 20.89 seconds in a 50m freestyle time trial, 0.02 seconds quicker than the world record set by Brazil’s Cesar Cielo in December 2009, although the time will not be recognised by World Aquatics.