Yet another athlete has announced their commitment to join the Enhanced Games.
In a post on Instagram, the Enhanced Games (@enhanced_games) shared that 3-time Irish Olympian Shane Ryan will be joining the games set to occur next year.
Ryan, 31, most recently competed at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore where he was one of several swimmers to fall ill with a stomach bug during the meet. Following the World Championships, Ryan remained out of competition for several months before announcing his retirement from competitive swimming last week. In his retirement post, Ryan noted that he wasn’t planning on stepping away from the pool completely, but did not mention the Enhanced Games. “Though I’m stepping away from competition, my love for the sport remains as strong as ever – and I look forward to giving back in new ways, mentoring the next generation and staying involved in the swimming community.”
Ryan, a backstroke specialist, has picked up several minor international medals throughout his career including bronze medals in the 50 backstroke at both the 2018 and 2024 SC World Championships. He has also represented Ireland at three Olympic Games, including the 2016, 2021, and 2024 Games, becoming the first Irish-man to do so. At the Olympics, he never made an individual final, with his highest finish coming in the 100 backstroke in 2016 where he placed 16th in the semi-finals of the event.
Prior to switching to Irish sporting cititizenship in 2016, Ryan was a member of the US Junior National Team. He was born-and-raised in Pennsylvania and attended Penn State, where he competed for the Nittany Lions between 2012 and 2017 (with a redshirt year for the 2016 Olympic Games). He remains one of the only swimmers in school history to have competed at the Olympics.
Ryan also competed for the Toronto Titans in the now-defunct International Swimming League (ISL) back in 2020. The league was known for its strict anti-doping policies, a stark comparison to the Enhanced Games.
Despite his speciality being the backstroke events, the Enhanced Games clarified in their Instagram post that Ryan will contest the 50m freestyle and 100m sprint at the games. While the latter of the two events was previously listed as the 100m freestyle, it is unclear whether the games will shift to include additional strokes in the event. Currently, the only other swimming events on the schedule are the 50m and 100m butterfly.
With this announcement, Ryan joins a growing list of accomplished swimmers who have joined the Games, joining male sprinters Ben Proud, Kristian Gkolomeev, James Magnussen, Andrii Govorov, Marius Kusch, and Josif Miladinov, while American Megan Romano became the first female to join the organization in early August.
Sport Ireland expressed their feelings to Ryan’s decision by saying they feel “deeply dissapointed”, adding “At Sport Ireland we are dedicated to safeguarding athlete health and defending the rights of the clean athlete. We are disappointed that any Irish high-performance athlete, past or present, would support an event which is so at odds with our values. It is the absolute antithesis of our work on behalf of the clean athlete. We condemn everything that the Enhanced Games stands for.”
The controversial organization is hosting its inaugural event next May in Las Vegas with $1 million on the line for going under the existing the world record in the 50 free or the 100-meter dash. Other events are slated to pay out $250,000 for dipping under the existing mark.
Every time I read these reports I think “the Olympic industry has remained the same, over paying admin C-suite executives while 99% of athletes make little to nothing—and then are told to shut up and be thankful for the opportunity to represent their country.” I do not think EG would make much ground into the Olympic athlete ecosystem if that wasn’t a simple fact. EG will expose this more and more. Take for example USA Swimming. APA (direct support for National Teamers) has been flat since 2010 (less than the average salary of a club team assistant coach) while USAs c-suite compensation has risen. AND, USAs National Team Coaches were paid for the first time in 45 years this past… Read more »
You are absolutely right that finances seem to be driving a lot of the Enhanced Games signings, but it doesn’t seem like too many people are leaving in the prime of their Olympic careers, or much time left in that sphere.
When comparing the salaries of USAS athletes vs. coaches vs. support staff, it’s worth noting that in many cases, the “glamorous” or “dream” job pays less than something that is perceived as more mundane or behind the scenes, even if the skills are similar. I think this is why you see the disparity. Kid grow up dreaming of becoming Olympic athletes, but less so of becoming coaches, athletic trainers, etc.
In a completely different field, software engineers who work… Read more »
The EG participants’ hometowns are scattered around the globe. Does anyone know, are they:
To all the noobs who downvoted my post on his retirement article, who is laughing now???
dudes probably still got the juice in his fridge
you really can’t trust a guy with two first names
🙁
LOL
Like 50% of the GB mens worlds team haha… James Guy, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott, Matt Richards, Oliver Morgan, Max Morgan, Jonathon Marshall
Living up to our perfidious reputation as ever
EG is for ED
I don’t hate the guys signing up for this – it’s just sad that it’s the most viable way for a 6-figure (or even decent 5-figure!) income.
Money shows what we value as a society, and sadly it’s no surprise being a billionaire’s plaything is valued more than being a role model to thousands.
nobody knows him
117k followers on instagram isn’t nobody.
Picture is giving “Hello Darkness My Old Friend”