Enhanced Games to Hold One-Day Competition in Las Vegas This Weekend

The Enhanced Games will stage a one-day event Sunday in Las Vegas that permits the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Forty-two athletes, including several former Olympians, are scheduled to compete under supervised regimens. The event is organized by the Enhanced Group, which went public in May.

Organizers say athletes may choose to participate in a 12-week supervised trial conducted in Abu Dhabi. Thirty-six of the 42 competitors joined the trial, and 34 used performance-enhancing drugs during it.

Athletes who elected to use substances received regimens prepared by the games' medical staff. The approved categories included testosterone esters, anabolic agents, peptides, growth factors, metabolic modulators, and stimulants. Testosterone or testosterone esters were used by 91 percent of the athletes who took part in the trial, while human growth hormone was used by 79 percent.

Winners of each event will receive $250,000 from a promised $25 million prize pool. An athlete who breaks a world record can earn an additional $1 million. Past participants include Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, who received that amount last year after setting a 50-meter freestyle record.

Several athletes have cited financial incentives as a reason for joining. Irish swimmer Shane Ryan said he earned 18,000 euros annually during his Olympic career, which he described as below minimum wage. Sprinter Fred Kerley and swimmers Cody Miller and Ben Proud are also among the competitors.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee have condemned the event. WADA President Witold Bańka stated that the games send a dangerous message to young people and questioned why participants would risk their reputations. The Barbados National Anti-Doping Commission also expressed disappointment after sprinter Tristan Evelyn joined the competition.