Courtesy: Hagai Ashlagi
Just a couple of months ago, a sub-current, seemingly lending a shade of legitimacy to athletes pledging to participate in the “Enhanced Games”, flowed quietly through parts of the swimming community.
It was fueled by British sprinter Ben Proud‘s statement to BBC Radio 5 Live, that it would take him “13 years of winning a World Championship title” in order to earn the same amount of money that’s up for grabs at the Enhanced Games, which is offering $500,000 for an event win and $1 million for breaking the world record in either the 50-meter freestyle or 100-meter freestyle. “There’s a huge financial incentive with this, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t matter,” said Proud.
Proud’s statement got the comparative green $$$ juices flowing, and some swim fans’ sense of financial fair play kicked in. “Why shouldn’t swimmers (and track sprinters) get financial rewards at least in the lower ballpark figures of professional athletes who play commercial spectator sports like Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis or Golf”, one would ask. Elite swimmers are no less uniquely physically gifted than top ball players, and we all know they normally train harder. But there is, of course, no financial comparison between the two. Swimming has yet to reach a level of full professionalism, while ball team sports, tennis, and others have gotten there decades ago.
Enter: the “Enhanced Games” – billionaires flashing bundles of cash at athletes for competing doped. These are their four main characteristics of the doped “Enhanced Games”: (1) They are devoid of restrictions on doping, performance-enhancing substances, steroids, hormones, EPO, or any other artificial/chemical performance-enhancing substances or methods; (2) They are supposed to include sprints in swimming and on the track, as well as weightlifting. Presently, it’s not possible to find the actual list of events on the “Enhanced Games” website; (3) They promise 500,000 US$ to event winners and 1,000,000 US$ to doped world record “breakers”; (4) They are supposed to be held in Las Vegas in 2026.
The billionaire entrepreneurs funding this steroid/hormone-fueled circus promise “medical supervision”. But Victor Conte, the kingpin of the infamous BALCO doping operation, and a man who knows more than most about doping and Olympic medals (having supplied numerous track and field athletes with medal-winning performance-enhancing substances), went on record as saying: “I do not think it’s a good idea. I think the general thinking of athletes is – ‘if a little bit is good, a lot is going to be great’ – and they have a tendency to overdo it, and the next thing you know, they’re doing self-harm.”
What is clear is that little is known about the long-term effects of unchecked substance use and doping on any human body, and the little that is known hardly bodes well. No “medical supervision” can truly prevent the risk of complications that athletes may encounter in the future. The question marks many still have about the tragic demise of Florence Griffith Joyner continue to linger to this day.
To date, only over-the-hill, post-career athletes whose competitive peaks are behind them have signed up for the doped “Enhanced Games”. For them, it looks like a last-ditch attempt to cash out on their winding-down athletic careers.
Several months ago, the pro-doping crowd posted a video of sprint swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, swimming doped, unofficially “breaking” the 50-meter freestyle world record at an “Enhanced Games” sponsored event. Gkolomeev not only swam doped, but also wore a body swimsuit, of the kind banned from swimming competitions 15 years ago. Given the proven “mechanical” (buoyancy/hydrodynamic) advantage of the suit, Gkolomeev may as well have swum with fins and paddles. If equipment provides a proven advantage, it really doesn’t matter what that equipment is.
For the billionaire entrepreneurs, it all seems like a bit of a laugh. Almost like Roman patricians anxious to be entertained by modern-day gladiators-for-cash. Add a new gaming venture on which to place odds and bets, to boot.
All at the physical, mental and emotional risk will inevitably be shouldered entirely by the young men and women in the steroid-fueled competition. One can only speculate on the “integrity” of the gambling (that will surely follow), in an environment intentionally artificially altered by doped sporting performances. Put it this way – don’t count on the billionaire entrepreneurs to lose.
Meanwhile, during this past October, the World Aquatics World Cup in North America reminded us that swimming can provide for exciting viewing and become more financially rewarding, with no doping required. The top six women swimmers earned between $53,000 and $182,000 (USD) in October at the 2025 World Aquatics World Cup. The top four men earned $54,000 – 184,000 in a single month.
So while many rue the often lackluster stuttered steps of swimming’s governing bodies that have done little to advance swimming to further professionalism and commercial appeal, it should be clear that doped-to-the-gills cash-fueled competition can not be the answer to swimming’s governing bodies’ shortcomings.
Finally, the real questions we should ask ourselves are these –
- Do we want swimming’s best and brightest 18-year-old kids leaving controlled national and international competition for a short doped career?
- If your answer is NO, then in what way are the “Enhanced Games” anything but an over-the-hill athlete’s doping-for-money, last chance to cash out retirement plan?
- Do any of the billionaire entrepreneurs financing the doped games have any real commitment to any real sports, or is this, for them, an in-vivo experiment on human beings, with added entertainment value and gambling benefits?
The world’s greatest ever sprint swimmer – Sarah Sjostrom – has given her own resounding answer to these questions. She has blocked and unfollowed every single athlete linked to the “Enhanced Games”.
So should all of us.
About Hagai Ashlagi
A former age group, and current masters and open water swimmer;
Legal counsel of a professional European Basketball League and partner in “The Aquatic League” – A Mediterranean open water swimming league.
The prestige of the legit games will only hold on for so long.
To answer that, World aquatics should open more legit avenues for swimmers to capitalise on their skills.
If they could somehow build a league for swimmers that plays once a month or two weeks and drive audience to those events it would really be a game changer. Not a simple task with swimming but likely doable
Say what you want, but when someone offers you millions of dollars, let’s see how many of you climb down from your high horses.
Perhaps paying young men and women to dope to the gills at personal risk, should not be allowed.
I see so many people bashing the athletes for joining the enhanced games, but think about where they’re coming from. It is notoriously hard to financially support yourself from just swimming, unless you have sponsors or are a top swimmer in the world. For a lot of swimmers, they need a way to support not just themselves, but their families. I think it’s very fair to understand that for many of them, the enhanced games are a way for them to support themselves and I support that.
Money money money.
It’s all ok as long as it is about money.
How about getting a real job?
Only 50’s + 100 free = not interested, regardless of whether they’re doping or not
panem et circenses
EG is funded by Peter Thiel
It’s a testament to this sport’s inability to fund its athletes the right way
It makes so much more sense financially because it’s all about money
You get so much more money from the enhanced games that it’s not surprising some have gone over world aquatics should do better to fund athletes
Ah yes i get 10K for breaking a world record legitimately or I get 1 million if I drug and roid up and do it at the enhanced games!
That the thing this should be a wake up call for world aquatics that their system to support athletes doesn’t work and needs to change. They offer very little financial support and have no investments in advertising or promoting the sport how can you attract sponsors if you don’t support putting the names of your athletes at there. There is no structure in place in swimming to attract viewership or sponsorship and that’s why swimming falls short of other sports!
Unfortunately, swimming just does not have the same spectator appeal as many other sports. Us fans love it- but there’s no glamour, no tactics, no game, no strategy., really no team element that popular spectator sports have (a few relays aren’t the same as a soccer team). Many of the worldwide elite swimmers compete at full strength only once or twice a year…. some, gearing to Olympics when they’re still years away.. Otherwise they’re still in hard training and you’re not gonna get fireworks….The public wants fireworks. On TV you’re just watching 8 moving shapes- you have to already know the swimmers- their background, their personality, their PBs, their form etc for it to be meaningful.
Swimming could do… Read more »
There’s plenty of individual sports that are popular. Marathon running, tennis, and even American Ninja.
Well said, Hagai.
Why is Swimswam even publishing anything regarding these Games.
We should never see this on a site where kids have access to it!!!!!!
Enhance Games don’t deserve any free publicity from any credible organization.
People worked sooooo hard to keep the sport as clean as possible.
Kids have access to everything.
Would you rather they learn about the Enhanced Games from us, or from Brett Hawke?
Very true LOL
I’d rather learn distance swimming from Michael Andrew than the clown Brett H
It’s swimming news… This is a swimming news site. Hope this helps