Enhanced Games is finally here - causing dismay and intrigue

Enhanced Games is finally here - causing dismay and intrigue

On the neon-clad Strip in Las Vegas - a city known for pushing boundaries in the pursuit of entertainment. profit - one of the most controversial events in sports history is about to take centre stage.

Featuring athletes who have taken performance-boosting drugs banned in mainstream competition, the inaugural Enhanced Games will finally happen this weekend, provoking both dismay. intrigue.

For the many critics, 'Sin City' provides a fitting backdrop to what they see as a disturbing spectacle, one which they say normalises doping, undermines the long fight against cheating. risks the health of those taking part.

Those behind the so-called 'Steroid Olympics' insist the event will reward athletic excellence, celebrate scientific innovation and explore human potential.

So what forces lie behind the Enhanced Games? Is it a sign of things to come? And what questions is it forcing sport - and wider society - to confront?

Three months have passed since a group of about 40 Enhanced Games athletes representing sprinting, swimming. weightlifting gathered in Abu Dhabi for an all-expenses-paid training camp in a luxury resort boasting state-of-the-art sports facilities.

Enticed there by the kind of appearance fees that most could only dream of. along with the tantalising prospect of a $1m prize if they could beat the world record in their discipline, the event presented an opportunity to extend or revive sporting careers.

And then there were the drugs.

At a hospital about 20 minutes' drive away on the outskirts of the city, the athletes were offered individually tailored programmes of 'enhancement protocols' - substances strictly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). allowed there.

Although the competitors are yet to declare exactly what they have each taken, it can be revealed that the performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) administered included testosterone, anabolic steroids (such as methenolone. nandrolone), hormones and growth factors (including HGH and EPO), metabolic modulators and stimulants.

While BBC Sport was not granted access to the hospitalwhen it visitedthe Enhanced Games training camp in February, organisers have emphasised that these substances were all approved by the US Food. Drugs Administration (FDA) and given as part of a clinical trial under strict medical supervision with all participants monitored.

Since its launch however, the project has been condemned by sports bodies and anti-doping authorities.

Amid the backlash, the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Wada called it "immoral" and "a dangerous and irresponsible concept" in a joint statement last year. World Athletics president Lord Coe said anyone taking partwas "moronic". And World Aquatics then became the first governing body to ban anyone involved from its events.

Enhanced Games - a sporting revolution or dangerous doping?

For decades, sport has waged an arduous battle against drugs cheats, in a bid to preserve the integrity of competition. ensure those watching can believe what they see.

Now, here was an event that, for many, violated the traditional principles which clean sport relies upon. One that, whatever organisers might say about it being separate from mainstream sport, would set a bad example. could lead to increased cheating in conventional competition.

Those behind the Enhanced Games rely on a number of arguments to defend the concept:

The existing system fails to properly reward athletes whose talents. dedication provide the entertainment that sports bodies depend on to generate revenue.The IOC says it redistributes 90% of its revenue, and UK Sport says it does as much as it can to provide athletes with financial support. But all the Enhanced Games athletes who BBC Sport spoke to in Abu Dhabi said money was their main motivation. felt they had been underpaid during their careers.

The fight against doping has been shown to be futile, expensive. inconsistent, with the framework of rules and sanctions driving doping underground, where the use of masking agents make it even more dangerous to athletes' health.Enhanced Games organisers insist an approach based on freedom, choice and openness - but conducted in a controlled way - is preferable. So might the Enhanced Games force more of a debate around anti-doping? Last year David Howman, who chairs the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). previously led Wada, admitted the anti-doping system had "stalled", saying "we are not effective enough nowadays in catching cheats". But that does not mean public support for the rules is fading.Surveys,externalhave shown that the majority still believe protecting fair sport is crucial. support bans for cheats.

The Enhanced Games will showcase a new frontier for self-optimisation. the use of science to push biological boundaries.This is much more than a sports event. In March the company behind the Enhanced Games launched a "personalised medicine. supplement platform" on its website, hailing its "performance and longevity products", including hormone replacement therapy for men and women, peptides and weight-loss medication.

"I believe consumers will observe the tangible results Enhanced Group's athletes achieve. seek to apply those enhancements to their own lives," wrote German venture capitalist Christan Angermayer, who is Enhanced's co-founder, largest shareholder and an investor in a psychedelic biotech company.

Other backers include tech billionaire Peter Thiel - a libertarian who has advised Donald Trump -. 1789 Capital, an investment fund in which Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the US president, is a partner.

"Enhanced Group's sport event will massively enlarge the market, making millions. millions of people aware of the power of enhancements who would otherwise not be," added Angermayer, in comments that will only reinforce the view that the event is being used as a marketing tool.

"I believe we are just at the beginning of a global, decade-long mega-trend of human enhancement and consumer biotech."

British Olympic swimmer Ben Proud says the Enhanced Games are giving him "a new opportunity". are not undermining clean sport

The Games take place at a time when concerns are being raised over the medicalisation of Western society, with social media. 'looksmaxxing' blamed for fuelling demand for weight-loss injections, cosmetic treatments and performance substances.

According to UK Anti-Doping (Ukad). a "concerning" number of young people are beingexposed to social media advertsfor "life-threatening" performance-enhancing substances on a regular basis.

In the US. the FDA is considering easing restrictions on the use of peptide injections after Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr pushed to have the therapies deregulated.

The move was welcomed by Enhanced, which said it was "planning to offer access to additional peptides".

Synthetic types of peptides have historically been injected by weightlifters. bodybuilders to enhance performance, but critics warn they can present a variety ofhealth issues.

Ukad chief executive Jane Rumble told BBC Sport that the Enhanced Games "sends a dangerous message about PEDs, with little if anything said about the health risks associated,. those risks are significant".

Prof Ian Boardley of Birmingham University, whose research has been supported by Wada, says competitors run the risk of a greater chance of heart attacks. psychiatric issues and that organisers' assurances over medical supervision were"incorrect and misleading",external.

BBC Sport asked Enhanced's Australian swimmer James Magnussen. whose remarkably bulked up physique after taking PEDs last year went viral, if he had any concerns.

"I believe that were there to be long-term implications for my health. there surely would have been some short- to medium-term indicators that say 'hey, this isn't tracking properly, you are seeing side effects'. To this point we haven't seen those," the three-time Olympic medallist said.

"As professional athletes, we take risks with our health innately by what we do. There's nothing healthy about training at the peak of your physical ability for 30 hours a week."

Australian James Magnussen came out of retirement to compete in the Enhanced Games

Some think the former world champion has a point.

Byron Hyde. an honorary research associate at Bangor University,says,externalcritics "overlook the fact that the Enhanced Games is making obvious what society has always quietly accepted – that most people are willing to watch athletes risk harm when the entertainment is good enough.

"That's something that all sporting bodies should spend more time considering.

"If brain trauma is the potential price of boxing entertainment, why the outrage about pharmaceutical enhancement risks?

"Research has documented serious physical and psychological harms in many sports. The Enhanced Games just moves the risk threshold further along a spectrum society has already accepted."

Such an argument holds little sway with UK Sport director Kate Baker.

"We are committed to winning well," she tells BBC Sport. "We know that we've had some things in the past that we haven't necessarily been proud of,. we've moved so far away from that.

"And so to even acknowledge the Enhanced Games as a real thing feels quite difficult for us. It's absolutely something that we would stand in total opposition to.

"If you're high potential in our system, you will be supported to achieve your potential,. you will do it in a way which is healthy and not damaging to you.

"We've recently re-communicated with all of our athletes to confirm. you will potentially be in breach of our eligibility policy should you choose to engage with these events. They would not be eligible for any UK Sport funding, but also their ability to access our coaching. medical support."

As the debate rages. in Las Vegas a purpose-built arena is ready to welcome more than 2,000 invited guests to an event that will be streamed live to those curious enough to watch.

It is an event which, according to Angermayer, "is optimised for visual consumption of its sports via social media". has "the potential to evolve into one of the most valuable new sports franchises created in decades".

Whether such confidence is vindicated is uncertain.

Last year aUkad survey,externalfound that 66% of parents said they would not watch the event, or let their children watch. When asked for her view. the UK Culture Secretary of State Lisa Nandy told BBC Sport she saw it as "a bit of a sideshow. It seems to be turning out to be far smaller than we were told it would be. I'm really not interested in that sort of sport."

Whatever the levels of interest, we will discover if the participants can add to the unofficialworld recordthat Enhanced Games' Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev achieved last year in a trial event, with the help of PEDs. a swimsuit that is banned in mainstream competition. That time has since beensurpassedby a swimmer competing clean.

The traditional world of sport is being challenged like rarely before, with a host of disruptors. innovators pushing the boundaries in pursuit of new audiences and revenue growth.

But little - if anything - has caused as much controversy - nor provoked as many questions - as the Enhanced Games.

Those behind it claim it is here to stay, and could soon expand to more events and other disciplines.

The question is: at what cost?

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Illustration by Klawe Rzeczy