The event, staged over the weekend in Las Vegas with doping openly permitted, was billed as a revolutionary break from traditional sport and a showcase for “superhuman” performances. Instead, it produced just one unofficial world record and left many questioning its credibility and future.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev emerged with the most notable achievement of the highly controversial competition, posting the 87th-fastest 50m freestyle time in history under legal conditions in the Las Vegas pool. He was among the 42 athletes competing across 22 events in athletics, swimming, and weightlifting during the inaugural edition of the competition, which had already faced two postponements.
Gkolomeev clocked 20.81 seconds, surpassing the previous mark of 20.88 set by Australian Cameron McEvoy. However, the performance will not be officially recognised, as the event is not sanctioned by the relevant international federation, the International Olympic Committee, or any recognised governing authority.
What the Greek swimmer is still expected to receive, however, is the $1 million (€860,000) prize promised to any athlete who surpassed a conventional world record. Organisers had anticipated several competitors would achieve similar feats, reinforcing the “superhuman” image heavily promoted in the build-up to the event. Instead, the results largely fell short of expectations, despite athletes embracing what organisers described as the “dark side” of sport. Most participants ended up with only the $250,000 (€214,000) awarded to individual event winners.
Data released by organisers claimed that 91% of competitors used testosterone, 79% used growth hormone, 62% took stimulants, and 41% used EPO — the controversial substance that transformed endurance sports in the 1990s and has more recently been linked to cases involving Kenyan athletes. Although EPO is now considered relatively outdated due to easier detection methods, testing was not an issue at this competition.
According to the figures provided, 36 of the 42 athletes competed while using performance-enhancing drugs. Ironically, the remaining athletes — who had declared they would compete clean — could still face sanctions from international federations, with some reportedly at risk of future bans despite rejecting doping. Few of them, meanwhile, earned the substantial financial rewards on offer.
“This will change my life for the better, without a doubt. It is a great help to me and my family,” Gkolomeev said in comments released by the Enhanced Games.
For comparison, the prize money earned by many Olympic medallists often falls below €100,000. Gold medallists at the Paris 2024 Olympics received €94,000 from the Spanish Olympic Committee, making the financial incentives in Las Vegas significantly more lucrative.
The overall verdict was mixed. The ambitious slogan unveiled by the Enhanced Games two years ago — “We change the world” — ultimately fell short of becoming reality. Supported by private investors including founder Aron D’Souza, German entrepreneur Christian Angermayer, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr., son of US President Donald Trump, the project reportedly operated with a budget of around $25 million (€21.4 million).
Its central vision of creating a “new generation of superhumans” also appeared to fall short. Even high-profile athletes such as Fred Kerley — the former world 100m champion currently serving a World Athletics sanction and viewed as one of the event’s biggest attractions — failed to come close to threatening Usain Bolt’s world record. Kerley clocked 9.98 seconds in the 100m, more than a second slower than Bolt’s record and also behind his own personal best. Kerley had stated beforehand that he would compete without performance-enhancing drugs, and he still managed to defeat rivals who admitted using them, although no additional reward was offered for doing so.
Another notable issue was the lack of major sponsors or sporting brands. Despite presenting itself as a revolutionary global sports platform, the event failed to secure significant commercial backing. Even the polyurethane swimsuits worn by competitors — already banned in traditional swimming due to concerns over “technological doping” — featured no sponsorship branding.
There were, however, some positives for organisers. American swimmer Hunter Armstrong, Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, won the 50m backstroke title. Like Kerley, Armstrong had publicly stated he would not use performance-enhancing substances and still managed to outperform athletes who did.
Audience figures offered another encouraging sign. The Enhanced Games were streamed live on YouTube, where organisers claimed around 250,000 viewers followed the action from the casino hotel venue in Las Vegas. The event itself was attended by approximately 2,500 invited guests.
