The inaugural Enhanced Games produced one unofficial world record while others were nearly broken, but one unexpected result stood out: Athletes who said they were competing without performance-enhancing drugs won multiple events against enhanced rivals.
The festivities in Las Vegas on Saturday night were hailed as a success by the Enhanced Group, which marketed the event as a drug-friendly alternative to the Olympics. Of the 42 athletes who competed, three who said they weren’t using performance-enhancing substances won events, including U.S. sprinter Fred Kerley, who won the men’s 100-meter race and said he intends to compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The other clean winners were Tristan Evelyn, who won the women’s 100-meter race, and Hunter Armstrong, who won the men’s 50-meter backstroke.
There were 13 “personal bests” set, and the company touted multiple records that were nearly broken. The one event where a world record was broken was the last event of the night, when Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev won the men’s 50-meter freestyle in 20.81 seconds—0.07 seconds quicker than the record time from Australia’s Cameron McEvoy set in March at the China Open.
For his record-setting victory, Gkolomeev took home both the first-place prize of $250,000 and a $1 million bonus for breaking a world record. In total, $25 million had been set aside for prize money.
