The Enhanced Games will announce the dates and location of its inaugural edition on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas, with some other news, such as athletes involved, expected to be revealed as well.
Earlier in the day, Brett Hawke, who has announced himself as the head swim coach of the Games, posted a video of Kristian Gkolomeev going under the world record in the men’s 50 freestyle in a time of 20.89, reportedly done during filming for a documentary about the Games. The video has since been set to private.
The release of the video confirms Gkolomeev’s participation in the Games, joining Australian Olympic medalist James Magnussen, who was the first well-known athlete to declare his intention to be involved.
Below, we’ll track all of the news broken at the press conference, which begins at 1 p.m. local time in Vegas (PT) and 4 p.m. ET.
Watch the live stream here:
LIVE UPDATES
- Las Vegas is announced as the initial host of the Enhanced Games, scheduled for Memorial Day weekend 2026 at Resorts World Las Vegas. The dates would be May 23-25, 2026.
- Enhanced Games founder Aron D’Souza announces a “Performance Enhancement Protocol” with two independent commissions, one medical and one scientific, that will help guide athletes to safely and effectively take PEDs.
- D’Souza announces “Enhanced Performance Products,” a consumer product line open to the general public. “This will be the embodiment of Enhanced’s core mission: to inspire humanity with the belief that we can all overcome our limits and become superhuman, safely with the right medical supervision,” D’Souza said.
- “Today is about sport, but it’s also about much more than that. It’s about choice, it’s about freedom, and it’s about unlocking the next chapter of human potential, not just for athletes, but for everyone. From elite competition to everyday enhancement, we’re building the foundation for a healthier, stronger, longer future, one built on science, safety, and self-determination,” he said.
- Enhanced Games Deputy President Maximilian Martin says the Games are said to be set up for speed, with a four-lane pool and six-lane track mentioned in the press conference.
- Martin says athletes will receive appearance fees from the Enhanced Games, along with a prize pool for performances at each competition.
- A $1 million award will go to new world records in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter dash, and $250,000 will be awarded for all other world records.
- The events contested at the Enhanced Games will be:
- Aquatics
- 50 free
- 100 free
- 50 fly
- 100 fly
- Athletics
- 100m sprint
- 100m / 110m hurdles
- “Sprint Showcase”
- Strength
- Snatch
- Clean & Jerk
- Aquatics
- The press conference shows a feature video of Kristian Gkolomeev and Brett Hawke in the lead-up to him going 20.89 in the 50 free, under the existing world record of 20.91. He does that in a super-suit, which have been banned since January 1, 2010.
- It then shows Gkolomeev clock 21.03 in the 50 free wearing a jammer, under Caeleb Dressel‘s mark of 21.04 which stands as the fastest textile swim ever.
- Read more on that, and watch the race and a 61-minute documentary, here.
- Gkolomeev, appearing on stage, says that in his 20.89 swim, he was only two weeks into taking performance-enhancing drugs and weighed 203 pounds. In the second attempt with the jammer, he was two months into taking PEDs and had gained 10 pounds of muscle.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in sports. Can’t believe anyone is taking this seriously. This is all a grift for Hawke because he can’t get a deal coaching job anywhere.
Re: Hawkes involvement – it’s actually really disappointing for any swimmers or coaches who had genuine interest in the concept of a different style of training for sprinters, because Hawke essentially just blew any credibility out of the water (no pun intended).
I totally get that he’s been controversial prior to his involvement in these games, but this completely drew a line through anything he’s previously said, and will likely have severed his relationships with prominent swimmers (ie. McEvoy).
And it’s even worse because a lot of his audience are young male age groupers, who are now discussing doping as if it’s a pre workout.
I almost thought this was an Onion headline. What a tangled web we weave.
It’s BULLS*** that UNDERMINES times and performance of legitimate athletes!
Please STOP with the reporting of this fiasco!
There should be a monetary punishment for juicing and NOT breaking the world record
If you break it, you get one million dollars, but if you don’t, pay up
I might actually watch that
I guess they are sticking to the 50 because none of these has beens are getting anywhere near 46.4 no matter what they take. They’re just gonna get big and hope to splash their way to sub 21.
I’m assuming the goal is to be on the cycle during the games, how can foreign athletes get drugs into the states? Seems like they would be at a disadvantage.
For high steroid use sports like bodybuilding the competitors are on the off portion of the cycle (and starving).
I know I’m going to have 17,000 people screaming at me for ruining their childrens’ lives, but…it’s not that hard to get illegal steroids in the U.S. Many of the substances they’re using are widely available via prescriptions or online ordering from other countries where its legal. There are also the local dealers like any other drugs.
(The laugh is that their kids probably already know this, even if they don’t).
This is why Crooks retired