World record-breaking swimmer Cam McEvoy has taken a clear shot at the inaugural Enhanced Games after his fellow Aussie James Magnussen finished last in both his races at the controversial event.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev went under McEvoy’s 50m freestyle world record time at the Games by a mere 0.07 seconds.
Gkolomeev also won the 100m freestyle, while Magnussen finished last out of four swimmers in both races in times that were well down on his personal bests despite taking performance-enhancing drugs to prepare.
That prompted a social media post from McEvoy, who broke the official 50m world mark in March, which read, ‘Seriously?! That’s all you got!’
The Enhanced Games and their pro-doping ethos have been widely denounced by world sporting authorities.
Fans of sport have also condemned those who took part in the event on Monday, Australian time.
Former world champion swimmer James Magnussen (pictured) has been slammed after coming last in both his events at the Enhanced Games
Record-breaking Aussie pool star Cameron McEvoy posted the above message on Instagram slamming Magnussen and other Enhanced Games stars after only one world record was broken at the pro-doping event
Fans have also taken aim at Magnussen after he finished well below his personal best times in the 100m and 50m free despite taking performance-enhancing drugs
‘So an enhanced suit that would have (been) banned in comp, and PEDS only eked him (Gkolomeev) the record by 0.07 seconds?,’ one said.
‘No one is impressed with these results,’ another added.
‘Lmao this is pathetic, Barely sets a WR juiced out of his mind,’ one more said.
‘This isn’t a world record … it’s an abomination of sport,’ another claimed.
‘Him (Magnussen) coming dead last certainly dents the whole thing,’ one more stated.
‘Geez…. destroy your health for a fraction of a second,’ another declared.
Gkolomeev clocked 20.81 seconds, bettering the 20.88 world mark set by McEvoy. But the time will not count because he took banned substances.
He was also wearing a race suit long banned by swimming authorities.
Supporters of clean, sanctioned events claim the Games made a mockery of sport
Some commenters brought up the possible side effects of taking steroids and other PEDs in preparation for the event in Las Vegas
McEvoy (pictured) is one of Australia’s most successful swimmers in recent times after taking gold at the Paris Olympics
It was the only sub-world-record time set at the Games, which promotes PEDs.
Gkolomeev won a $US1 million ($A1.39m) bonus for going under the world record time.
The 50m freestyle was the last event on the Games program.
While Gkolomeev’s time will not be official, it was met with celebration at the Games.
‘I’m going to say it’s not bad at all,’ Gkolomeev said of the prize money.
‘This is going to change my life to the good, for sure. And yeah, I’m going to continue next year. Maybe I’ll break it again.’
While Gkolomeev dominated, it was a disappointing event for Australia’s only competitor.
The 35-year-old Magnussen, the first athlete signed to the Enhanced Games, finished last in the 50m and 100m freestyle.
Magnussen clocked 22.35 seconds for the 50m and 49.44 for the 100, outside the personal-best times he set more than a decade ago in the two events.
Gkolomeev won the 100m in 46.6, just outside the world record time of 46.4 set by China’s Pan Zhanle at the Paris Olympics.
The financial lure was substantial for Magnussen, a two-time Olympian and dual 100m freestyle world champion who retired from swimming in 2018, until the arrival of Enhanced Games.
Track and field sprinting and weightlifting were also on the program.
There was $US250,000 ($A358,000) prize money on offer for race winners; and a $US1 million ($A1.4 million) bonus for bettering the 100m freestyle or 50m world record times.
Melbourne-born entrepreneur, Aron D’Souza, founded the Games and since left the company that became The Enhanced Group.
On May 8 the company officially launched on the New York Stock Exchange with a reported $1.2 billion enterprise valuation.
The performance-enhancing drugs being taken by Magnussen and other athletes are being marketed and sold by The Enhanced Group.
Several athletes who said they were clean won events at the Games.
American Fred Kerley and Tristan Evelyn from Barbados took out the 100m sprints, while Hunter Armstrong from the US claimed the men’s 50m backstroke.
