Ben Proud sent shockwaves through the swimming community on Wednesday morning with his announcement that he’s joining the Enhanced Games, essentially ending his competitive career on the international stage representing Great Britain. Although it’s not yet confirmed if Proud plans to be put on the Enhanced Games doping protocol, or race in the Games clean, World Aquatics has enacted a new bylaw barring anyone who participates in the Games from competing in one of their events (this could change with the $800 million lawsuit the Games filed last month).
Following the bombshell news drop on Wednesday, SwimSwam’s Braden Keith and James Sutherland reacted to the news, outlining what they believed Proud is capable of doing at the Enhanced Games, what his motivation to join the Games might have been, and if this move will lead to more swimmers joining the Games.
You can read more on Proud’s move to the Enhanced Games here.
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Mountain of money to climb, that is. Has nothing to do with conquering a new venture. It’s all about the money. Twisting it any other way is beyond sad.
This is a business decision. Dude has spent the last 20+ years training and been a world class athlete for the last 10+ years committing to a sport which requires the commitment of two full time jobs and has nothing financially to show for it. He’s now 30, has known nothing but swimming his entire life and has to eat for the next 50 years. Instead of criticising the athlete criticise the structure of the system which means that he’s in this position in the first place. No offence but he doesn’t owe anyone anything.
then you have no idea of the opportunities in front of a retired swimmer
Why would the opportunities for him after doing this be any different?
I really don’t think he’s gonna be blackballed, and it could for sure open up a whole different route. (Not exactly the way Riley Gaines went, but there’s an infrastructure in place if you want to take part in the Grievance Industrial Complex.)
I feel like these are points worth keeping in mind while many are quick to unequivocally condemn his choices.
any (former) swimmers liking it seems like an admission that they are ok with steroids and other enhancing methods.
If he announced retirement from traditional competition, will he still be tested accordingly to WA or WADA to be “the clean athlete being banned”?
an athlete removing themselves from the testing pool is the official marker for their retirement. I could only see him remaining if he strongly commits to declining the PEDs, using his lack of negative tests to lend credibility to his swims
Thank you. I asked a few questions about testing and the $1 million bonus (without using drug) in the other article but that comment got moderated and never see the light 🤷♀️
Loser kills legacy.
“What is the motivating factor?”
Ummm… money, money aaaand what was that other factor again……oh yeah….money!
Also, steroids and HGH are not just about ‘getting jacked,’ they significantly improve recovery time which allows athletes to train more frequently and strenuously to prepare
Ultimately, it is the demand for fairness and equity that finds new tributaries. Some other place a winner can call his own. It’s never a good idea to knock down success by ensuring it to all. But it is extremely difficult to stop that flow.
Dirtbag. Anyone taking part in this abomination should be shunned for life.
As long as they are open about it and not using it as an unfair advantage over swimmers who aren’t using the same things they are then I don’t see the issue. It’s a MILLION dollars plus a chance to keep doing what he loves. I don’t know why it has to be “twisted” in order to keep doing the sport he loves.