A swimmer broke a world record at the enhanced games

At a glance:

• Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev won the 50m freestyle at the Enhanced Games in 20.81 seconds, beating the official world record of 20.88 but the mark will not be counted due to performance-enhancing drugs and a banned supersuit.
• The Las Vegas event featured 42 athletes competing openly with FDA-approved substances such as testosterone esters, anabolic agents, peptides, and stimulants; prizes included $250,000 for first place and $1 million for a world record.
• Critics question the harm-reduction claims and note that most athletes refused to disclose their exact drug regimens, while the organization also sells PEDs through a telehealth-style platform, drawing investors like Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.

What happened at the enhanced games

The crowd erupted as Kristian Gkolomeev touched the wall in 20.81 seconds during the final competition of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas. The 32-year-old Greek swimmer, a four-time Olympian who had never medaled, beat the 20.88-second world record set by Australia's Cameron McEvoy at the China Open in March. However, because Gkolomeev used performance-enhancing drugs and wore a supersuit banned by World Aquatics over 15 years ago, the time will not be recognized as an official record.

The event, held in a temporary $50 million facility featuring a four-lane Olympic-size pool, a 100-meter sprint track, and a weightlifting podium, drew 42 athletes from around the world. First-place finishers in each discipline received $250,000, and anyone who broke a world record earned $1 million. Despite heavy hype — including American sprinter Fred Kerley vowing to destroy Usain Bolt's 100-meter record — no other world records fell. Kerley's 9.97-second dash would have placed last at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The substances and health risks

According to an ongoing clinical trial involving 36 of the 42 athletes (only two of whom competed naturally), participants used a range of FDA-approved performance-enhancing drugs:

• Testosterone esters
• Anabolic agents
• Peptides and growth factors
• Metabolic modulators
• Stimulants

In the lead-up to the Games, organizers reported that 91 percent of athletes used testosterone or testosterone esters, 79 percent used human growth hormone, and 62 percent used stimulants like Adderall. All substances were FDA-approved, according to the organization, which also sells PEDs directly.

A paper published last August in Performance Enhancement & Health cautioned that androgenic-anabolic steroids can cause “life-altering effects” on cardiovascular, endocrine, and cognitive function, and that any harm-reduction framework would need “comprehensive health assessments before PED use begins, but also long-term ongoing clinical support.” Despite this, athletes like Hafthor Björnsson praised the medical supervision at the Enhanced Games. Björnsson, who has been using PEDs since age 19, noted that the event’s requirement to only use FDA-approved substances forced him to drop some drugs from his normal routine.

The business side and conflicts of interest

Enhanced Games CEO and cofounder Max Martin is open about the organization’s mission to bring PEDs to the masses. The event’s website offers copper peptides, sermorelin, testosterone injections, GLP-1s, semaglutide, and tadalafil through a telehealth-style platform that requires medical intake forms and regular check-ins with certified doctors. “What matters is that it’s a protocol personalized to [each athlete],” Martin said when asked why most competitors refused to disclose which specific drugs they used.

But the business model raises concerns. While organizers declined to say how much of future prize pools and operations will rely on product sales, investors such as Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. likely expect returns. The event’s founder, Aron D’Souza, has described RFK Jr. as “pro–human enhancement,” linking the Games to the broader MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement. Irish swimmer Shane Ryan, who joined for the money, expressed hope that Enhanced could pave the way for a separation of “clean” events and transparently juiced competitions, but critics argue that the same financial pressures that drove athletes to dope in secret may simply be formalized — and that many people cannot afford personalized drug cocktails.

The future of enhanced games

Martin envisions the Enhanced Games becoming diversified with a major annual event plus various one-offs across different sports. The substantial prize pools — far larger than what many Olympians have ever experienced — will likely continue to attract talent. Gkolomeev has already said he plans to return next year, and Björnsson, despite his reservations about transparency, competed with endorsement.

Yet the lingering dystopian feel and the refusal of most athletes to reveal their substances underscore the contradictions. The organization’s goal of making PEDs more common throughout sport and society may appeal to those who argue that doping is already widespread, but the lack of transparency and the for-profit structure leave many questions unanswered. As journalist Ben Dowsett noted, the overconfidence on display before the contests drove home the feeling that this was more an elaborate money-making scheme than a genuine revolution in athletic competition.