The long-mooted and highly controversial Enhanced Games is finally set to become reality when the inaugural competition is held in Las Vegas in May.
The Games have been dubbed the “Doping Olympics” ever since their founder, Dr Aron D’Souza, first proposed the idea of launching an Olympic-style multi-sport competition in which performance-enhancing drugs are allowed.
D’Souza has vehemently rejected accusations that the competition poses a risk to competitors’ health, insisting their intake of drugs and the subsequent effects will be carefully monitored by medical professionals.
But the governing bodies of sports involved in the Games have been strong in their condemnation, as has the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), and participating athletes are set to be banned from returning to mainstream competition.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the Enhanced Games?
The Games are scheduled to play out between Thursday 21 May and Sunday 24 May.
Where is it being staged?
The Games will be hosted at Resorts World, a hotel in Las Vegas. Organisers plan to set up temporary competition facilities, including a four-lane 50m swimming pool and a six-lane 100m track.
Which sports are included?
The Enhanced Games will only include three sports: swimming, athletics and weightlifting, although ‘strongman’ may feature as a separate element from weightlifting. There will be very few events in each sport, with only the 100m sprint and hurdles set to take place on the track.
What is the prize money?
Event winners have been promised $250,000, with a further $250,000 on offer for the remaining competitors. Should any athlete beat the official 100m sprint or 50m freestyle world records at the Games, they have been promised a $1m bonus.
Which athletes have confirmed their place?
The full list of athletes is yet to be announced but around 40 have so far publicly confirmed their participation.
At the time of writing, 13 swimmers are listed on the Enhanced Games website; 12 track athletes; 14 weightlifters; and two strongmen, who may take part in strength challenges separate from the weightlifters.
The most high-profile athlete involved is the American sprinter and former 100m world champion, Fred Kerley.
British competitors include freestyle swimmer and Olympic silver medallist Ben Proud, fellow swimmer Emily Barclay, and European 100m silver medallist on the track, Reece Prescod.
Which drugs are allowed?
Most performance-enhancing drugs will be permitted at the Games, so long as the substances are legal in the US and prescribed by a doctor. Illegal recreational drugs like cocaine are not permitted.
Athletes have already openly discussed taking anabolic steroids, testosterone, human growth hormone and peptides. Competitors are required to disclose what they choose to take.
What do critics say about the Enhanced Games?
Wada has branded the Games “dangerous and irresponsible”, while World Athletics said the event was “contrary to the sport’s integrity and tradition” and athletes choosing to take part would face bans from official competition.
A joint statement by the athletes’ commissions of Wada and the IOC said: “As athletes, we believe that the Enhanced Games or any events encouraging the use of performance-enhancing substances and methods are a betrayal of everything that we stand for.
“We stand firmly together to uphold the values of fair play, ethical behavior and respect – principles that have shaped our journey and that we believe should guide and inspire the next generation of athletes. We will do everything we can to protect the integrity of sport for generations to come.”
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