The Olympics on Steroids: What are the Enhanced Games?
The Enhanced Games is an Olympic-style sporting event with competitive athletes from around the globe showcasing their talents in their respective events. Pretty similar so far? Well, what if I was to add that it encourages the use of performance-enhancing drugs for all participants and that it is a doping-friendly sporting event backed by private, billionaire investors.
The concept has been initiated by Aron D’Souza, previously a trained lawyer and now a turned businessman. D’Souza has received financial backing from multiple high-profile venture capitalists, the most recent and the most notable being Peter Thiel. The founder of PayPal revealed that he will be backing the controversial sporting competition with a multi-million-dollar investment alongside the founder of Coinbase, biotech investors and many cryptocurrency moguls. Thiel himself has been renowned for using human growth hormones and is backing the games in the name of science. He believes that society has been in a period of technological stagnation since the 1970s and “would like to see a world where people think about the future more”. (PhilosophyforLife)
Source: The Guardian, Aron D’Souza the brain power behind Enhanced Games.
Since receiving investment from such venture capitalists, D’Souza has declared that the first Enhanced Games could be launched as soon as December 2024 with registration opening later this year.
The Enhanced Games intends to allow anabolic steroids as well as human growth hormones, beta blockers, cannabinoids and every performance-enhancing drug deemed to be safe for use. Michael Sagner, a sports medicine researcher at Kings College London, is now a member of the Enhanced Games medical board and claims that the games will ensure that the athletes come first with a “sophisticated safety protocol”.
The Enhanced Games website has its own list of ‘enhanced world records’ whereby every athlete that has been stripped of medals and records for doping, is in fact celebrated for their achievements. For example, Tyson Gay who was stripped of his silver relay medal in 2012 after it was revealed he had used steroids.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Tyson Gay who was stripped of his silver medal for the 4x100m relay in 2012.
The reasoning behind all of this? In the name of science. D’Souza claims that the games will “enable researchers to conduct findings on longevity and anti-aging” as well as “push the boundaries of human performance”. The Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs “open and honestly” and welcome any “individual or athlete aspiring to self-improvement through science”. The games are open to all individuals regardless of their level of skill or their status as a professional athlete. D’Souza has defended his venture using the argument of bodily autonomy; “my body, my choice” and claims that no government nor sporting federation should be making decisions for athletes.
Unsurprisingly, the sporting competition has not been without its criticisms and has received significant backlash from some of the biggest names in the world of the Olympic Games. Many are extremely concerned for the safety of the athletes and the idea of drug-friendly games have been described as dangerous by several Olympic committees. Former Olympian and current Chef de Mission for Olympics Australia, Anna Meares, has openly criticised D’Souza’s venture; “it’s a joke to be honest. Unfair, unsafe – I just don’t think this is the right way to go about sport”. Sebastian Coe, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, has claimed that no one within his sport is taking the concept of Enhanced Games seriously.
However, with over 900 athletes expressing interest in the Enhanced Games, should we really start to get to grips with the possibility of a doping-friendly sporting event? Athletes such as James Magnussen have openly started coming forward expressing interest in the event. James Magnussen was quoted declaring that “I’ll juice to the gills, and I’ll break the 50m freestyle world record within six months” … obviously with the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Source: BBC Sport, James Magnussen claims that he will break the world record with the use of performance-enhancing drugs
There is also the argument that the emergence of the Enhanced Games may help to keep doping out of the Olympics. Former three-time Olympic gold medalist, Leisel Jones suggests that the new style of games “might actually keep sport clean”.
In light of the many doping scandals within the Olympic Games, many may argue that a drug-friendly sporting competition may be necessary. The Olympics of recent years have been plagued with stories of doping and performance enhancing drugs; only one of the top six male 100m sprinters has never tested positive for banned substances…Usain Bolt. Just last month, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, was banned from competing for four years following her high-profile positive doping test at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, there are various arguments that make the Enhanced Games an attractive prospect, even to its most vocal critics, such as me. The Enhanced Games say that athletes will receive a base salary for their participation and compete for prize winnings, though neither of these amounts have been revealed. This shines the established Olympic Games in a negative light whereby Olympic athletes do not receive a base salary at all. This does not pose such a problem for the high-profile Olympians such as Usain Bolt, who receive bonuses for their medals on top of their multiple sponsorship deals, yet if you are not part of the lucky few, some Olympians require a part-time job or funding from family to continue their sport.
Finally, the Enhanced Games only intends to showcase five sports – swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, athletics and combat – compared to the 40 different sports on show during the Olympics with over 14,000 athletes. This will then simplify the logistics of planning the games as there are significantly less athletes to accommodate for. The Enhanced Games would reuse current sporting facilities and would be funded by private investment capital. On the other hand, the Olympic Games are funded through tax-payers money, and all too often have we seen new facilities being built, used and left abandoned once the Games have been and gone.
Overall, I still thoroughly disagree with the concept of the Enhanced Games. Sport is about natural ability, hard work and determination and I wonder whether we would not be throwing away all of these values when a sporting event essentially legalises cheating?
