Enhanced Games: Trump-backed ‘doping Olympics’ set for Las Vegas
Las Vegas has been selected as the host of the first so-called doping Olympics, organisers the Enhanced Games have announced.
The event – which will involve limited track and field, swimming and weightlifting events and take place across Memorial Day weekend next May – will see athletes able to use performance enhancing substances to win $250,000 (£186,000).
Each Enhanced Games event will have a total prize pot of $500,000 (£372,000) with the likes of former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen taking part.
The announcement on Wednesday included a world record claim, with Greek 2024 European bronze medal-winning swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev allegedly beating Caleb Dressel’s best time by one hundredth of a second in a behind-closed-doors race, earning himself $1m in the process.
Enhanced Games in Vegas
The Enhanced Games is the brainchild of London-based lawyer Aron D’Souza and is backed by the likes of Donald Trump Jr, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, former Coinbase figure Balaji Srinivasan and life sciences and psychedelics investor Christian Angermayer’s Apeiron Investment Group.
Enhanced Games organisers have hired key figures from Nike, Snapchat and Red Bull in a bid to legitimise their project, which will see competitors race the 100m dash, sprint hurdles, freestyle and butterfly swimming and snatch, clean and jerk lifting.
D’Souza said: “We live in a world transformed by science – from vaccines to AI. 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 project has been approved by global medical body the Institutional Review Board under a model named the Performance Enhancement Protocol, while the Enhanced Games also unveiled plans for a products business that will allow public access to validated performance products. It has not yet been stated how the products will be regulated.
“This isn’t just about breaking records,” added Gkolomeev. “It’s about breaking limits. The Enhanced Games gave me the resources and the team to unlock a new level of performance – and now the whole world can see what’s possible.”