Athletes competing in the inaugural Enhanced Games have defended the controversial event and insisted they are competing safely, transparently and for life-changing financial rewards that mainstream sport has long failed to provide.
With the competition set to take place at Resorts World Las Vegas on Sunday, athletes spoke to the media ahead of what organisers are billing as a landmark moment in the history of sport – and what critics have labelled the ‘Doping Olympics.’
The Enhanced Games allows athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision. It has been condemned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a ‘dangerous and irresponsible concept,’ while governing bodies including World Aquatics and Aquatics GB have also distanced themselves from the event.
Yet the athletes themselves were forthright in their defence, pushing back hard against the notion that they are doing anything dishonest.
‘There’s been a lot of pushback and a lot of condemnation, especially when it comes to the integrity of fair play,’ said American sprinter Shania Collins on Friday afternoon.
‘I’d say that this is completely different. I think that people need to open their eyes and see what is in sport already. We’re being upfront, honest, and transparent from the start.
American sprinter Shania Collins has defended her involvement in the Enhanced Games
The inaugural event is set to take place at a custom-built venue in Las Vegas on May 24
The Enhanced Games have been backed by biotech billionaire Christian Angermayer
‘We are saying we are taking performance-enhancing drugs. So how could you challenge our integrity when we’re coming forward and forthright with the information – versus some of your favourites who say they’re clean when they’re really not?’
Collins, who retired from professional athletics partly because she felt she was competing against athletes who were not clean, said the transparency of the Enhanced Games was a key draw.
‘I felt like it was unfair. I was lining up against girls who I knew weren’t clean in the sport, and I was doing my absolute best,’ she said. ‘I was trying my hardest.
‘New training tools, new training partners, new coaching environments. I was doing everything I could to be my absolute best. And I knew the women I was lining up with weren’t clean.’
That sense of injustice, combined with the financial reality of elite sport, drove her towards the Games. Prize money on offer includes $1 million for breaking world records, which dwarfs what most Olympic-level athletes earn across entire careers.
‘In our sport, it’s known that we don’t get paid or compensated well at all,’ Collins said.
‘When Enhanced came to me and I realised that those things overlapped – that we would be paid financially well and we would shed light on PEDs – I was like, those are two of the reasons why I retired. I’d love to be a part of this.’
British swimmer Ben Proud, a ten-year fixture in world championship 50m butterfly finals, was equally direct about his motivations. He has spent a decade at the very top of swimming without seeing any meaningful improvement in prize money or funding.
British swimmer Ben Proud admitted that the $1m prize fund was a major factor for joining
American star Hunter Armstrong will compete but won’t be on performance-enhancing drugs
The Enhanced Games are offering a $1million prize fund for any world records broken
Asked bluntly whether his participation was about money or proving a point, Proud did not hesitate. ‘It’s about the money. I don’t think I’ve got anything to prove. This is my stepping stone – my benchmark swim for the next three years.’
Similarly, American sprinter Fred Kerley added: ‘I know a guy that got a silver medal at the Olympic Games and, shortly after, his contract was cut.
‘So, now, I’ve got a base salary. And they treat us right, we’ve got medical care and all that stuff around us. So I don’t stress over the income, it’s already there. I can just chill, perform, and enjoy doing what something I love to do.’
For athletes with families to support and limited earning windows, the financial opportunity is a powerful one.
Hunter Armstrong, who won Olympic gold in the 4x100m medley relay at Paris 2024, is competing without taking any performance-enhancing substances – a decision he says is non-negotiable given his ambition to compete at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
But he was candid about what drew him to the event. ‘I want to take advantage of this amazing opportunity for myself, my family, my future,’ said Armstrong. ‘And I want to do it the right way so that I can continue to represent at the highest level.’
Armstrong was keen to stress that his presence should not be read as a statement against World Aquatics or USA Swimming, who have both condemned the event.
‘This was not a protest, or a ‘gotcha,” he said. ‘I have very good relationships within World Aquatics and USA Swimming, and that’s a lot of why I wanted to continue to compete and represent my country in 2028.’
For those who have crossed the line into enhancement, the physical changes have been striking and Proud said the difference was impossible to ignore.
‘As a 15-year clean athlete, you have to work so hard for these things,’ he said. ‘Things come easy now. Nothing has changed about training, but things come much, much easier.’
Enhanced Games co-founder Angermayer has insisted that the event will change the sport
A rendering of the Enhanced Games shows what the arena will look like during the competition
He added that the experience had given him a new perspective on what he can still achieve. ‘I’ve realised how much it’s absolutely changed, and I’m taking that into my next cycle with almost enthusiasm. I can’t wait to reapply what I’ve learned to my future training.’
Collins described her first injection as a moment of genuine anxiety, but one that was eased by the level of medical oversight surrounding her.
‘I was very nervous. I had a lot of anxiety because it’s the unknown and a line I’d never crossed before. But I had the whole team around us and we had extensive meetings on the risks. The nerves eased the more I met with the doctors.’
Both athletes reported mostly positive effects. Collins cited increased strength, faster recovery and improved mental clarity, with minor negatives such as acne and hair growth.
While British star Proud reported water retention but nothing more serious, adding that he had been monitored by leading doctors in Abu Dhabi.
The Enhanced Games has faced pointed questions over whether it could normalise drug use among younger athletes. Armstrong was the most cautious of the three on this point.
‘That would be a concern of mine. I definitely do not want to see any unsafe procedures or enhancements, especially at a young age,’ he said.
Proud was similarly careful. ‘I would not advise young people to enhance. This is me, a 31-year-old who’s been through swimming, who has seen there’s no financial reward, and who sees a fantastic opportunity for me and my family at a time when I was considering retirement.’
Collins spoke in depth about the medical assistance which athletes have received thus far
Former World’s Strongest Man, Thor Bjornsson, will also take to the stage on Sunday
Collins took a somewhat different stance, arguing that with proper medical support, enhancement does not have to be dangerous.
She said the Games’ approach – extensive MRI, heart and brain scans before any substances were administered – was the model she would advocate others follow.
‘If it’s something you’re comfortable with, if you feel like it could help you, ask the right doctors, find out the right information, and if it’s smart for you, I would say 100 percent,’ she said.
On the question of world records, all three were careful to draw a distinction between what might be set in Las Vegas and those that exist in mainstream sport.
‘I can see why people would think the world record wouldn’t count,’ said Collins. ‘I don’t think we’re saying this is the new standard that everyone should hold.
‘But I think it would shed light on what we can do if PEDs were introduced to sport – what more could the human body achieve?’
Proud, who will race against Khristian Gkolomeev, whose 50m freestyle world record last year helped spark the entire venture, agreed the enhanced marks would stand in a separate category.
‘In our world they’re the world records,’ he said. ‘In the swimming world, they’ll be the enhanced world records. They’re two very, very different things. But this is the first stepping stone – going after what Enhanced is after, which is peak human potential.’
Armstrong, meanwhile, described the Enhanced Games in theatrical rather than scientific terms. ‘This is, first and foremost, a show. Sports is entertainment. Being a theatre kid at heart, I like to put on a show, I like to make people smile.
‘I think Enhanced Games really wants to bring new life to sport.’
