Antani Ivanov Appears In Enhanced Games Social Media Posts as Training Moves to Abu Dhabi

Bulgarian Olympian Antani Ivanov has appeared in social media posts during meetings for the Enhanced Games‘ new training camp in Abu Dhabi.

Ivanov largely declined to comment on his future in swimming, citing what he perceived as previous unfair treatment toward him by the media, but did briefly say that “these people gave me an opportunity” before deleting that message.

That comment does not necessarily confirm Ivanov’s participation in the Enhanced Games; because Enhanced Games staff are barred from World Aquatics events, training with this group may not violate the terms of Ivanov’s suspension.

The Enhanced Games has moved its base of operation from Las Vegas, United States to Abu Dhabi, UAE ahead of its first planned spectacle in May 2026 back in Las Vegas. Most of the publicly-announced Enhanced Games participants, including American swimmers Cody Miller and Megan Romano, and Australian swimmer James Magnussen. Magnussen, who was long retired before being one of the first swimmers to sign on with the Enhanced Games movement, posted that he has reduced his weight from 114kg to 96.3kg (251 lb to 212 lb).

Ivanov, who swam collegiately at Virginia Tech, was the 2017 World Junior Championships bronze medalist in the 200 fly. He finished 3rd in the same event at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

He represented Bulgaria in the 200 fly at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The now-26-year-old is one of the younger participants in the Enhanced Games movement.

• Read more about Ivanov’s tumultuous career here.

Ivanov was suspended first in 2021 by the Bulgarian Swimming Federation for three years on charges that he damaged the reputation of the federation, athletes, coaches, and board members. That suspension was eventually overturned because it was found to be in violation of the organization’s bylaws, which only allow for two year suspensions. He was then given a two year suspension in 2024 under the federation’s disciplinary code after making several media appearances and social media posts criticizing the suspension.

That suspension was scheduled to expire on March 14, 2026, but has now been extended another two years after Ivanov participated in the swimming leg of a casual triathlon with friends.

In the interim, he also served a two year suspension for missing three Whereabouts failures, though he maintained that he was being punished for his public statements about the federation and disputed the missed test (in one case, he says he was tested later the same day, negative; in another, he was at the World Championships and available for testing and says that his local anti-doping committee placed him in the USA, in the third, he says that no evidence was provided that the tester arrived at his place).

In 2025, a Bulgarian court found him guilty and defamation and insult against Georgi Avramchev, President of the Bulgarian Swimming Federation, after Ivanov called him “Mr. Oligophren” on Facebook and accusing him of corruption and theft. He was fined and given a public reprimand for his actions.

In brief comments to SwimSwam on Monday, Ivanov reiterated his sense of corruption in the 2024 suspension given that Avramchev was “both a plaintiff and the chairman of the commission.”

Swimmers are currently training out of Erth Abu Dhabi, a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi with a 50 meter pool.