Bulgarian swimmer Josif Miladinov has retired from Olympic swimming to participate in the Enhanced Games, according to Plovdiv24.bg. At 21, he is the youngest swimmer to publicly join the Games and the first swimmer to make public the intention to abandon their non-enhanced career during their prime years to pursue the Enhanced Games.
Miladinov, 21, won a European Championship silver medal in the 100 fly in 2021 when he was only 19 years old. That swim of 50.93 remains his lifetime best; He finished 8th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and 17th in the same event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
That same year, he won European Junior Championship gold in the 50 fly and 100 fly.
The Enhanced Games have been actively recruiting active swimmers. Visibly, that includes Leon Marchand, who won four Olympic gold medals last summer and is the reigning top male swimmer in the world. Marchand commented on a video of Kristian Gkolomeev‘s drug-and-suit-enhanced 20.89 in the 50 free “This is sad,” to which the Enhanced Games posted a reply encouraging him to join the Enhanced Games.
Miladinov has not yet commented publicly on why he chose to go the Enhanced Games route.
The Enhanced Games revealed several major announcements this week, including that they will host their first event in 2026 in Las Vegas and that Gkolomeev went 20.89 while in a performance enhancing drug protocol and wearing a polyurethane rubber suit that isn’t allowed in AQUA-sanctioned competition.
Miladinov is the 4th athlete listed on the Enhanced Games website alongside Gkolomeev, 50 fly World Record holder Andrii Govorov of Ukraine, and Australian Olympic medalist James Magnussen.
Has there been any clarification of whether clean athletes can compete? Can Leon stay in the regular wada testing pool and just show up and win all the events and take the paycheck at the enhanced games?
I have asked, and will let everyone know when I hear back.
Man 😐
We Bulgarians are on a horrendous run right now
Way to throw your life, health, and career away. His choice, let his pay for it
Have any women signed up for enhanced games, or is it just a bro thing?
I expect we’ll see more people try to get away with juicing for regular competition this year, because if they get caught “oh well, enhanced games is a pretty good fallback.”
They do say women are smarter than men lol, this might be more proof
No women yet.
I was reserved on what I thought about the whole thing, but after giving it some thought, the sport is already unfair in so many ways, the substance intake is the least ranking on the list. So bring it on.
The better paycheck argument that they dangle in front of swimmers is to me maybe the most messed up part about this. “If we give you enough money you’ll let us experiment on your body for our entertainment right?” And sadly for some the answer will be yes
Antani, any thoughts on this?
I think there might be some truths in what he said.