Enhanced games aim to test the limits of human potential through drugs.
Australian swimmer James Magnussen celebrates winning gold in the men's 100m freestyle at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai.
photograph: CSPA/Photo Sports
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the strength competition, but he won't start taking performance-enhancing substances until about nine months after the competition.
The Australian world champion was the first player announced by Enhanced, but he says the organization has had a lot of interest since he joined.
“At this stage, we cannot reveal the names of all the players, as some are still competing and others are in negotiations.”
Enhanced, also known as “Dope Olympics,” was founded by billionaire Aaron D'Souza and backed by investors including Peter Thiel, the controversial co-founder of PayPal who was granted New Zealand citizenship. Is receiving.
The plan is to hold events featuring track and field, swimming, gymnastics, strength and combat competitions. Exactly when and where this will take place has not yet been decided, and even if there is a vote from the International Olympic Committee, it will not happen.
The current head of the Australian Sports Commission, Olympic great Kieren Perkins, says the Olympics are borderline criminal and someone will die if they go ahead, but he doubts they will actually go ahead. He said he did not.
Former Olympian Ben Sandford, who represented New Zealand in skeleton form, also told The Detail that he was opposed to such an event and that it may be difficult to decide on the details of when and where it would take place. He said he believed that.
“Where will this event be held?” he asks. “In some countries, it's going to be easier than others because of the way their anti-doping regulations and anti-doping laws stand.”
Doping in elite sports has long been prohibited, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen, Magnussen said.
“Throughout my career, I was very aware that there were athletes who were circumventing these rules, and there were countries that were doing the same.
“All Olympic athletes know that they are competing against certain athletes who are cheating.
“That's just a small part of it, and the reason I think this is a really interesting concept is because some people say cheating, but the fact is cheating is already rampant in clean sports. , it may be the first time in history that there was a truly level playing field.'' Things are not done in the shadows, but openly and honestly. ”
For Magnussen, there are three times as many spots.
“First of all, at 32 years old, I sometimes sit back and think, 'What could I have accomplished with a 20-year-old body and a 32-year-old mind?' Athletes don't think that way.'' I speak to reflect that sentiment, basically saying that you may be able to conquer the world physically, but you can't use the body of a 20-year-old to learn the wisdom and life of a 30-year-old. It's great to have perspective and hindsight. “He’s mentally very immature and inexperienced,” he says.
His second draw is the opportunity to swim the fastest 50-meter freestyle in history. The goal is to be under 20.9 seconds. His record was 21.5.
“And probably the third and final part in that order is the financial part.”
The monetary part is a $1 million prize.
Despite the stigma surrounding doping in sports, Magnussen said the conversations he's had with other athletes about their decisions to dope have been positive.
“Among other athletes, it's always been a very positive reaction. I think athletes like myself, post-career or later in their career, think this is a very interesting opportunity. Maybe they For some, it may even be an alternative to their current career,” he said. Say.
The reason it may be a good alternative is because there is a financial incentive.
For Sandford, having a financial incentive to take performance-enhancing drugs is concerning because it can lead to exploitation of athletes.
“I think the danger is that there is a duty of care expected of anyone organizing a sporting event, but if there is an incentive to encourage an athlete to dope, then clearly that athlete is at risk. There's also a risk to the wider population.'' By creating a sporting environment, more people can see this and believe they can do it too, and perhaps take as much care and diligence as these athletes. I would have done it without it. ”
He's not convinced it will work either.
“The reality is, I don't think there's a huge difference. We've been through a period where there was a lot of doping in sports, in certain sports, and the average viewer, the average person watching it, “doping does not necessarily mean doping.'' We were able to distinguish between doped and non-doped athletes. ”
Sandford says that adding performance-enhancing drugs reduces performance.
“It’s taking the sport out of the sport and that’s part of what bothers me.
“It's really just exploiting people for entertainment purposes and creating a spectacle without competition.
“There was a runner who said he could run faster than Usain Bolt because he was stronger, and that's fine, but you're not even running the same race.
“They are different and cannot be compared.”
Magnussen agrees with that.
“This is clearly not a legitimate world record. We're not comparing it to an actual world record and it won't be in the books,” he says. “But we're aiming to be the fastest swimmers, so it's really exciting.”
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