Las Vegas (AFP) – 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.
Either a bold exploration of the upper limits of human capability and technology, or a dangerous circus created to peddle dubious "biohacking" supplements to viewers, depending on who you ask, the wildly controversial event has generated countless column inches before a single race has been run.It has the deep-pocketed backing of a "Make America Great Again" crowd including Donald Trump Jr and billionaire Peter Thiel, plus Middle Eastern financiers.Bona fide Olympic medalists like US sprinter Fred Kerley and British swimmer Ben Proud have been lured to take part with potentially life-changing prize money.Anyone who beats a world record will take home a $1 million prize, while winners at the 2,500-seater arena at Las Vegas casino Resorts World will each receive a $250,000 jackpot.But since they were first mooted in 2023, the Enhanced Games have been slammed by organizations like the World Anti-Doping Agency, whose chief Witold Banka said the "dangerous" event "must be stopped."World Aquatics has banned anyone who takes part from returning to its events, while World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has simply called the whole thing "bollocks."'Game-changing'Some 42 athletes will participate in the Enhanced Games. Events include a 100-meter sprint, freestyle and butterfly swim races, snatch and clean-and-jerk weightlifting, and strongman deadlifts.
