World record holder Cam McEvoy has delivered a subtle sledge at the drug-fuelled swimmers competing at the Enhanced Games after Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev pocketed $2.5 million for just 67 seconds of racing and James Magnussen finished last in both his events.
It didn’t take long for Magnussen, who has been taking performance-enhancing drugs, to fire back at his former Australian teammate and the reigning Olympic champion, declaring: “Cam’s sitting at home talking about us. We’re not talking about Cam.”
Enhanced Games organisers narrowly avoided complete embarrassment on Sunday night (Monday NZT) in Las Vegas when Gkolomeev, in the final event of the night after no “world records” had fallen, clocked 20.81 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
While that time was quicker than McEvoy’s official world record of 20.88, set in March, the swim will not be ratified because it was achieved with banned substances in Gkolomeev’s system and while wearing a suit that provided a significant advantage.
Gkolomeev’s time will carry no legitimacy in elite swimming circles, but his teammates and Enhanced Games chief executive Max Martin celebrated as though it were a genuine world record.
