Fred Kerley won the 100-meter race. © APA/afp / ETIENNE LAURENT

Few world record performances at the “doping games”

The Enhanced Games, in which banned doping substances were permitted, fell short of organizers' expectations at their premiere in Las Vegas.

25 May 2026

From: dpa

Across the 22 competitions in swimming, weightlifting, and track and field, numerous athletes improved their personal bests. However, there wasn't a flood of results that broke existing world records. In any case, such achievements wouldn't have received official recognition from the international federations.

In the 50-meter freestyle, the last event of the day, Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev touched the wall in 20,81 seconds. This time was faster than the official world record of 20,88 seconds, earning him a bonus of one million US dollars in addition to the 250,000 US dollars he received for winning. At the Enhanced Games, swimsuits banned from international swimming since 2010, which had contributed to a wave of world records at that time, were permitted.

Kristian Gkolomeev swam a world record. © APA/afp / ETIENNE LAURENT

The 42 participants had access to performance-enhancing drugs such as testosterone, growth hormones, and EPO before the Enhanced Games. According to the organizers, 38 of them doped for eight weeks under medical supervision.

Criticism from the IOC

Exactly how much and what substances the athletes ingested remained a secret. It was reported, among other things, that 91 percent received testosterone and 79 percent growth hormones. According to the organizers, four athletes abstained from doping substances, including, by their own admission, former sprint world champion Fred Kerley and American swimmer Hunter Armstrong. Kerley won the 100 meters in 9,97 seconds, while Armstrong won the 50-meter backstroke and finished second behind Gkolomeev in the 100-meter freestyle.

Hunter Armstrong is not believed to have doped. © APA/afp / ETIENNE LAURENT

The organizers of the Enhanced Games, who have been criticized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and anti-doping agencies, aim to provide athletes with better financial and medical support through the event than is available in the established structures of world sport.