Two-time Australian Olympian and former Auburn head coach Brett Hawke will serve as the head swim coach at the Enhanced Games, he announced on Instagram Tuesday.
The Enhanced Games, which will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs without being subject to anti-doping tests, have been teasing a major announcement later on Wednesday, with dates and the location of the first edition expected to be revealed.
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Announcement:
As Head Swim Coach at the Enhanced Games, I’m here to help athletes explore the full capacity of human performance. For too long, we’ve operated within artificial limits—tied down by politics, hypocrisy, and outdated systems. This platform is different. It’s about transparency, safety, and a level playing field where every athlete knows the rules and has the freedom to push their limits.
DM if interested in joining us. @enhanced_games
Hawke will reportedly be making $250,000 per year in this role.
Hawke, 49, was announced as the head coach of The Swim Team (TST) in California in late July 2024, but that appears to have come to a quick end after the club named Mazen El Kamash as its new head coach earlier this month.
Prior to the news that Hawke was taking over at TST, he spent the previous year working as an unaffiliated online swim coach.
The Enhanced Games have been fully embraced by former Aussie Olympic medalist James Magnussen, who has become one of the faces of the event and, more than a year ago, declared he would “juice to the gills” to try and break the world record in the men’s 50 freestyle, which would net him a $1 million check.
Magnussen started working with Hawke after beginning his training in Australia last fall.
“I can’t train with any squads or registered coaches,” Magnussen told The Sydney Morning Herald. “You also can’t dive off the blocks in pools in Sydney.
“If you don’t have a coach keeping you on track and doing programs, getting times, keeping an eye on stroke rates … you’re very isolated. I was of the opinion that under those circumstances, I wasn’t going to be able to do a proper preparation. That’s why I linked up with Hawkey [former Australian Olympic swimmer Brett Hawke]. He’s not connected to any clubs or colleges.”
The Games have come under heavy scrutiny since the idea first came into the public sphere nearly two years ago, and United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart spoke out on them again this week prior to Wednesday’s announcement.
USADA even made a dedicated webpage about the Games, which included the following:
“Critics point out that the concept is not only legally questionable, but actually very dangerous to athletes’ health. Critics also note that the Enhanced Games sets a terrible example for young athletes around the world who will witness the glorification of a doping arms race rather than sport based on integrity, fairness, and determination.”
Tygart said: “While those behind the Enhanced Games might be looking to make a quick buck, that profit would come at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams.
“We desperately wish this investment was being made in the athletes who are currently training and competing the real and safe way. They are the role models this world so desperately needs and they are the ones who deserve our support – not some dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”
The Enhanced Games will be streaming a live press conference at 4 p.m. ET today where they’ll announce the dates and location of the first edition of the event.
Dude is selling his career away faster than Michael Andrew wow
What a joke
lol what a fraud so much for accusing pan zhanle you wish you had the talent pan has on his fingertips alone
Its such a hypocrite.
Anyone who’s seen Pan swimming knows he has far and away the best technique among all male sprinters
Does this mean that southern California kids can have their apartment complex pools back?
IYKYK
So it was 20.89 in the super suit and 21.03 in a regular jammer
Aussies — come get your kids.
I’d love to see one of Hawke’s swimmers break the 100m freestyle world record while using PEDs.
Seems in line with his character, or lack of thereof
This guy is a clown. No showed last years 50 free at USMS nationals. My guess, he couldn’t break 23