Two-time Olympic medalist Cody Miller detailed his decision to join the Enhanced Games in his latest YouTube video on Monday.
News broke that Miller, 33, was joining the Enhanced Games on Sunday, first reported by the New York Times, and Miller confirmed the news and dove into his decision with his latest vlog, which you can watch below:
Miller, who retired from sanctioned competition in December 2024, said there are three primary objectives he lives his life by, and the Enhanced Games check all the boxes.
He first spoke about presence and longevity – he wants to be present for his two children, and spoke about how his father, Craig, died in December 2015, shortly before Cody swam at the 2016 Olympics.
“My father passed away at the age of 60, way, way, way too young. Just a few months before I competed at the Olympic Games,” Miller said. “He never got to see me compete. So longevity is one of the most important things to me, it’s basically number one. I want to be around for my kids.”
Speaking on the perceived dangers of the Enhanced Games, Miller said that anyone who knows him knows he’s not going to do anything that will jeopardize his long-term health.
“When you see a lot of the wild headlines about Enhanced and how it’s dangerous, I’m here to tell you it’s not really the case. This is something that most people don’t really understand.”
Since signing on with the Enhanced Games, he said he’s already undergone medical screenings and blood work, giving him a “greater understanding of what’s actually happening in my body right now than I ever have before.”
Miller then spoke on the most obvious reason why swimmers are opting to join the Enhanced Games, the financial one.
“They’re paying me a lot of money, I have no shame in saying that,” he said, noting that his second objective in life is being a provider.
Being able to provide financially while continuing his passion, racing and training, was a key determining factor in his decision
He spoke on how a swimmer could win two events at the Enhanced Games and walk away with $500,000, with $1 million or more on the line if records are broken.
British sprinter Ben Proud, the most accomplished swimmer to join the Enhanced Games thus far, said in September that what he’ll make with the Enhanced Games is equivalent to winning world titles for 13 straight years.
Miller said he was “proud that athletes in my sport have that opportunity to earn that kind of money, to have those kinds of incentives that athletes should have.”
He said after winning two medals at the 2016 Olympics, he made less than $100,000.
“I personally think we athletes deserve better than that, and Enhanced is doing that.”
The third objective Miller spoke on is adventure–he values new experiences and said this is just that, adding that as a Las Vegas native, the idea of a big spectacle excites him.
He spoke about how he’s recently taken part in ice swimming events, and how he enjoys watching finswimming events, and how those are two types of competitions with different sets of rules from traditional swimming, and the Enhanced Games is just another one.
“Enhanced Games is a different thing with a different set of rules,” he said.
Miller closed out the video by reiterating his retirement from any World Aquatics-sanctioned events, and said he’s no longer affiliated with any USA Swimming clubs or coaches.
“I have no affiliation with USA Swimming. No partnerships, no contracts, nothing,” he said.
Miller specifically said he has no affiliation with Indiana University and Indiana Swimming in Bloomington, where he’s trained for the better part of the past 15 years since joining the Hoosiers as a college swimmer in 2010.
“I have my own training group, which has no affiliation with any of those things. I want to make that super, super clear.”
Indiana head coach Ray Looze declined to comment on Miller’s decision.
“I also want to be super clear that I fully support clean sport in the traditional forms of swimming – at the Olympic level, in the FINA (World Aquatics) sanctioned events. That’s how it should be. Those are the rules, those rules should be followed,” Miller said.
Miller won an individual bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, placing 3rd in the men’s 100 breaststroke in what was an American Record at the time of 58.87. He also swam the breast leg on the U.S. men’s 4×100 medley relay that won gold in Rio.
Miller also owns a pair of World Championship gold medals from the men’s 4×100 medley relay at the 2015 and 2017 LC Worlds, and has three additional medley relay medals from Short Course Worlds in 2014 and 2016. He also silver in the 100 breast at the 2019 Pan Am Games.
After placing 15th in the 100 breast and 17th in the 200 breast at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Miller announced his retirement from competitive swimming last December, racing at a local meet at the IU Natatorium before calling it a career.
Miller is the second American swimmer to sign the Enhanced Games, joining Megan Romano, and is the 11th male and 14th swimmer overall to join the controversial league, which will host its inaugural event in May 2026.
“I personally think we athletes deserve better than that, and Enhanced is doing that.” – cody miller equation
the base of any sport should be health…and many, many other pros that sport gives you – discipline, ethics, commitments, goals. if you believe that Enhanced Games offers you cherry on the top of your (post) active career – go get it cody!
p.s. a decade ago, the society trashed lance…just saying.
There’s no question that swimmers deserve more opportunities to earn a living. It’s unfortunate that some feel forced to join the Enhanced Games, potentially risking their long-term health just for a paycheck. I understand—people need to support their families. World Aquatics is arguably a corrupt organization that profits off athletes without fairly compensating them.
If the Enhanced Games are simply a way to pressure World Aquatics and USA Swimming into paying swimmers more, then I support that goal. However, athletes typically earn the most during their prime years—and for Cody and many others competing in the Enhanced Games, those years have passed. Most participants are athletes whose careers peaked some time ago, which makes the competition less compelling to… Read more »
I can’t help but feel kinda bad for these athletes who will most likely be thrown in the trash when this whole thing falls apart. I doubt there will be enough interest to justify its existence, and the tech bro billionaires funding it will move on to destroy some other industry. It’s hard to live being a retired athlete when all the worth put on you is determined by how much value you give to the sport. I can understand not knowing how to move on, even if I think it’s foolish to not have something lined up.
Having said all that, there’s no justifying this other than getting your bag. Nobody is convinced about any other reason, especially… Read more »
Just watched a couple of Cody’s vlogs. I did not know the Enhanced games offers $100,000 just to swim, even if you are not enhanced. Win 2 events in one day $500,000 and a World record another $1,000,000. I watched Cody gain muscle mass in the gym and swim lifetime bests in the 50 free and 100 yard back. I assume he will compete in the 50 and 100 LCM breaststroke events. I would love for this to become a scientific study on how additional muscle mass helps increase swimming performance. They are not allowed to discuss the actual PEDS used, but a weekly discussion of muscle weight increase and gym performance increase is such events as the bench press,… Read more »
Lame. Just say you want the money like Ben Proud did and don’t give other BS reasons
I respected Ben’s reasoning way more than Cody’s.
Someone mentioned other sports like track, cycling etc. where there is a quantum jump in monies available. If American swimmers got two or three times more their performances could be a lot better. When I was coaching, I used to draw comparison the cyclists who would be sweating and so much better warmed up. Yet in swimming we keep our best swimmers in cool rooms with zero immediate warmup. I look to Steve Lundquist as someone far smarter than others, in the HOT summer heat he came out with full swim coat and boots, he was sweating underneath and for the start he exploded, coming up HALF a body length ahead of the other breaststrokers. ASCA Level 5 coach
In Cody’s previous attempts for lifetime bests in the 50-yard free, 100 yard back and 50-yard breaststroke, he noted strongly how an extra 10 to 15 pounds of muscle mass really is necessary for faster times. I live in Lost Wages and look forwards to seeing Cody do a 57 second 100 meters breast. I wish more coaches would emphasize the need for muscle mass. Note how Adam Peaty went slower when he lost mass, same as Caleb Dressel. It takes years to build that much muscle mass without PEDS, our swimmers need to be building mass Now for 2028. ASCA Level 5 coach retired
Cody has barely been within a second of his lifetime best (58.8) in the last 5 years. He ain’t going a best time by a second even with PEDs.
2 days in, and complete silence from Lilly King, Adam Peaty and other so called anti PEDs advocates.
Love seeing these hypocrites expose themselves.
Meh, you can oppose PEDs without publicly denouncing a long-time friend.
There are plenty of people in my life that I care about deeply without approving of every choice they make.