USADA warns Enhanced Games will damage athletes and labels it 'dangerous clown show'
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
Imagine the Olympics, but instead of banning performance-enhancing drugs, they actively hand them out.
That is the exact premise of the highly controversial 'Enhanced Games'—a real-world sporting event scheduled for Las Vegas where athletes are encouraged to enhance their performance with steroids, hormones, and whatever else they can find to break world records.
Unsurprisingly, anti-doping officials are less than thrilled, with many speaking out to urge competitors to reconsider pumping their bodies full of performance enhancing drugs, as the consequences could potentially be fatal.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has issued a brutal reality check to anyone thinking about signing up for the Enhanced Games, where performance enhancing drugs are handed out like candy and drug testing is non-existent.
Advert
In a scathing ‘need to know’ breakdown, USADA didn't hold back, labeling the entire thing as a "dangerous clown show."
They warned that while organizers are promising massive payouts to athletes who break world records, the long-term reality involves severe mental health issues, irreversible organ damage, and a very real risk of death.
Travis Tygart, the Chief Executive Officer of USADA commented, “While those behind the Enhanced Games might be looking to make a quick buck, that profit would come at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams.
"We desperately wish this investment was being made in the athletes who are currently training and competing the real and safe way.
"They are the role models this world so desperately needs and they are the ones who deserve our support – not some dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”
Designed to test the absolute limits of "superhumanity," the upcoming games will allow athletes to openly use steroids and growth hormones in an attempt to smash world records for cash prizes.
Interestingly, it also allows for the participation of non-doped athletes, bringing into question whether raw, natural talent can outweigh a medical boost.
Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, the brains behind the Enhanced Games, argues that with the help of PEDs, athletes will be able to feel better for longer and safely extend their careers.
However, USADA’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Matt Fedoruk, points out this isn’t entirely accurate.
“Many [substances] are banned because they’ve been proven to be dangerous for athletes, with some harmful side effects being potentially irreversible,” Fedoruk explains. “This event is being done purely for the entertainment and shock value. If you’re an athlete looking for a payout, the promises may be appealing, but it’s forcing you to put your body, health, and probably your longevity at risk.”
One athlete who has reportedly been successfully enticed by the chaos is Australian swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist James Magnussen. With prize money of up to $500,000 per event—including a staggering $1 million bonus for breaking the 100m sprint or 50m freestyle world records—it's easy to see why the bag was tempting.
However, chasing that payday comes with a massive catch for an athlete's wider career.
World Aquatics, the governing body behind international swimming competitions, announced it will completely expel athletes, coaches, and officials from elite competition if they choose to involve themselves in the Enhanced Games.
The organization stated it refuses to align itself with the promotion of banned substances, and actively encouraged other sporting bodies to follow suit.
Not everyone has gone to the extreme of an outright lifetime ban, though. USA Swimming, for example, has avoided immediate expulsions but issued a stern warning to its athletes: “Even if you are not personally engaged in doping, affiliation with the Enhanced Games could significantly affect your ability to participate in future competitions due to USADA and WADA rules."
The organizers of the Enhanced Games haven't taken the pushback lying down. They are currently suing World Aquatics, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and USA Swimming for a whopping $800 million, accusing them of orchestrating an unlawful, monopolistic effort to bully and discourage athletes from participating.
Though the Enhanced Games allows athletes to use performance-enhancing substances to compete - such as testosterone, anabolic steroids, hormones and growth factors (including HGH and EPO), metabolic modulators and stimulants - there are still rules for them to follow.
And it certainly isn't a free-for-all when it comes to using substances.
Competitors are limited to only using substances that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning drugs such as cocaine, heroin and other illicit, non-prescription drugs are strictly prohibited.
However, there will be medical supervision for the athletes using performance-enhancing substances, which will see them undergo continuous physiological monitoring and medical profiling to prevent dangerous over-use
And it's important to note that athletes don't have to use these substances to compete - 'un-enhanced' athletes are also welcome to compete, which helps to establish a format that tests both medically augmented and entirely natural physical limits.