With the Enhanced Games just over a week away, another ‘non-enhanced’ athlete has been added to the field of competitors.
Sohib Khaled, an Egyptian who recently finished his final season of eligibility at Auburn University, will compete in the 50 meter backstroke and 100 meter butterfly.
Khaled will compete without entering the Enhanced Games protocol, the second such athlete announced as such along with U.S. Olympian and three-time relay medalist Hunter Armstrong. In addition to acting as foils to the Enhanced competitors, who will be using performance enhancing substances that are outlawed in Olympic-track competition, the pair will act as a test of international rules that have threatened to bar anyone associated with the Enhanced Games from World Aquatics competition.
Khaled last raced in yards at the NCAA Championships, where he was a member of two Auburn sprint relays.
His best time in the 50 back in long course is 25.98 and in the 100 fly is 52.79.
Both enhanced and non-enhanced swimmers will be wearing the polyurethane ‘super suits’ that led to a barrage of World Records in 2008 and 2009 but are also now outlawed in mainstream competition.
Khaled has represented Egypt at a handful of international meets, including the 2022 African Championships, but has never competed at the Olympics or World Championships.
The Enhanced Games is working on building its four lane competition pool at Resorts World in Las Vegas. That implies that they will need four competitors in each race. Khaled’s swimming credentials are not to the level of many of his competitors, and if the protocol performs as organizers expect, it’s unlikely that he will win either of his races.
Auburn, where Khaled recently competed his college career, is the school where Enhanced Games head swim coach Brett Hawke made his name in swimming. He served as an assistant from 2006-2009 and head coach from 2009 to 2018. He was named the 2009 NCAA Coach of the Year by the CSCAA in 2009, an honor he shared with his Auburn co-head coach Richard Quick.
The Enhanced Games‘ stock price took a big hit in recent days after beginning trading on the New York Stock Exchange last week. While the stock rebounded late in the day Friday to finish up 12% on the day, it is still down almost 40% since its launch and more than 50% off its post-SPAC launch last week.
The Enhanced Games will take place on May 24.
Confirmed List of Enhanced Games Participants in Swimming
| Athlete | Country | Olympics |
| James Magnussen | Australia | 2012, 2016 |
| Kristian Gkolomeev | Greece | 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 |
| Megan Romano | United States | – |
| Andriy Govorov | Ukraine | 2012, 2016 |
| Josif Miladinov | Bulgaria | 2020, 2024 |
| Shane Ryan | Ireland | 2016, 2020, 2024 |
| Max McCusker | Ireland | 2024 |
| Ben Proud | United Kingdom | 2016, 2020, 2024 |
| Marius Kusch | Germany | 2020 |
| Isabella Arcila | Colombia | 2016, 2020 |
| Felipe Lima | Brazil | 2012, 2020 |
| Natalia Fryckowska | Poland | – |
| Evgenii Somov | Russia | 2024 |
| Cody Miller | United States | 2016 |
| Emily Barclay | United Kingdom | – |
| Miguel de Lara | Mexico | 2024 |
| Antani Ivanov | Bulgaria | 2020 |
| Hunter Armstrong (unenhanced) | United States | 2020, 2024 |
| Sohib Khaled (unenhanced) | Egypt |
NCAA straight into enhanced games feels like a kind of logical move now. I wonder if Grant House will try it.
Deli convinced him to do this. Deli has seen the end of many careers at Auburn (including Marsh…).
Bro didn’t even make NCAAs individually they’re desperate
I think if you think about the goal…they’re going to market this as “this is a very good swimmer. World Class, even. Now watch the superhumans next to this very good swimmer.”
That will sell to the mainstream audience.
I think you are right and it is good marketing, but at the same time there is not a single year in the last 4-5 years where the 50 back would have made Top 200 but the 100 Fly would have made Top 150 in most years. Are they going to use a runner that has a PB of 10.2-10.5?
the mainstream audience won’t care because what sells olympic sports are storylines. either an athlete making a run for something unprecedented or perhaps rivals squaring off (Popov and Hall etc). the olympics have a built in audience and are a cultural ritual, so all they need is that ingredient that ignites the interest: big, capital “S” storyline.
a swimmer breaking a world record outside of major competition at a random event with zero brand IP without any human interest angle is going to be a flop—especially since (1) it’s doubtful if that world record can even be broken by these has-beens; and (2) it’s inherently delegitimized because it can ever be said to be an official world record.
You don’t think the Enhanced Games are going to do human interest angles?
they just won’t be meaningful or impactful enough to galvanize the attention of non-core spectators. the central question in all of marketing is, why should anyone care? for the Olympic sports, the rare breakout athletes who capture media attention typically build that momentum over time and it crests in the press buildup to the games where normal people learn about who they are.
by definition of what it is the enhanced games won’t be able to use the same fundamentals to drive interest. when i look at their plans i see a distinct lack of cohesive plan for how to build an audience.
“Non enhanced” eh? At the Enhanced Games.
Is Mexico paying for it?
“recently finished his final season of eligibility” bro didn’t even try 😭
literally who
Anyone know where they are getting the super suits? Are they being manufactured just for this or has there been a storage room full of them since 2009?
I believe they’re making them, but I could be wrong
How come no Enhanced entrants in the 4Im?
People who swim 4IM are willing to do real work for success. The whole story and purpose of sprint swimming is trying to find an easier way to success.
I was being sarcastic!
That’s one of the dumber stereotypes about PEDs. A lot of the time, the “enhancements” make it so you can literally work harder.
Say what you want about it being a shortcut or w/e, but “they’re lazy” isn’t necessarily part of it.
Non-sprinters disdain for sprinters never ceases to amaze me.
That said, I look forward to EG stock going to 0
I read that as 41 meters.
“Wow, they really are going all-out for new records.”