After months of doping, James Magnussen sees $1m bounty go up in smoke

In less time than it takes an Olympian to put on a swimming suit, James Magnussen’s dreams of winning a $US1 million cheque evaporated while he rested on a massage table next to a North Carolina pool in February.

After months of injecting peptides and testosterone, Magnussen watched on in disbelief as Greek Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev stole his thunder, slicing through the water at an unprecedented pace.

If Gkolomeev, now signed on as an Enhanced Games athlete, could swim one lap of the 50-metre pool in under 20.91 seconds – the world record held by Cesar Cielo – he would become an instant millionaire, thanks to a suite of rich investors.

“I looked out the door and heard the starter gun go off,” Magnussen said. “I was probably at the 35-metre mark when I saw Kristian go past. He was absolutely flying. I was like, ‘Holy shit, that’s fast’.

“I looked up, and it was 20.89. It was bizarre. People were running into rooms everywhere. Kristian had broken the world record. It was crazy.”

A documentary crew was there to capture the drama as Gkolomeev, an Olympic finalist in the same race just 207 days earlier, jumped onto the lane rope and placed both hands on his head in shock.

Although Gkolomeev was using performance-enhancing drugs and wearing a banned suit, the image of him being presented a large novelty cheque will be beamed around the world.

“This isn’t just about breaking records, it’s about breaking limits,” Gkolomeev said. “The Enhanced Games gave me the resources and the team to unlock a new level of performance – and now the whole world can see what’s possible.”

Kristian Gkolomeev (centre) after lowering the 50m freestyle world record. It will not be officially registered because he was taking performance-enhancing drugs. Credit: Enhanced Games

Respected Australian coach Brett Hawke, who has been secretly training Magnussen and Gkolomeev in the US ahead of next year’s inaugural Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, was stunned.

“Kristian was a little pissed off that James was getting all the attention and wasn’t swimming great,” Hawke said. “He just gets up on the block and breaks the world record. 20.89. It was f---ing crazy.”

Magnussen, the Australian Olympian who famously fell short of winning a gold medal in the 100m freestyle by one hundredth of a second at the London 2012 Olympics, is still one of the faces of the Enhanced Games, which launched on Wednesday (Thursday morning Australian time) in Las Vegas.

It is quite the turnaround for an athlete who spent his entire swimming career fighting for clean sport and despising drug cheats.

“The first time you stick a needle of testosterone in your butt, you have to do it in the muscle at the top just above your undie line,” Magnussen explained with a laugh. “I never thought I’d be sticking a needle with testosterone into my bum at any point in my life.”

The controversial, privately funded event has been dubbed the “Steroid Olympics”.

Magnussen, 34, has been on a whirlwind doping journey since February last year, when he made the bombshell announcement that he would consider signing up as the Enhanced Games’ first athlete … if the price was right.

All with the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs.

Although many things didn’t go to plan, the polarising Australian is ready to divulge the inside story of a stunning ploy to take substances in the pursuit of unprecedented human achievement.

“It was pretty wild,” Magnussen said. “I mean, nothing really is out of the norm for me.”

From clean champion to Enhanced Games frontman

“If they came to the party with $1 million for the [50m freestyle] world record, I would 100 per cent do it.”

With that quote in February, after initially floating his interest in the Enhanced Games on the Hello Sport Podcast, the “Missile” was off and away, despite being retired since 2019.

Things moved quickly. Enhanced Games founder Aron D’Souza, also an Australian, confirmed he wanted Magnussen to be the “star” of a new venture, which would encourage athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs and compete against each other for prizemoney.

D’Souza agreed that if Magnussen could break the 50m freestyle world record he would win $US1 million ($1.56 million).

Contracts and confidentiality agreements were signed as a documentary crew prepared to follow Magnussen’s every move ahead of his journey to the US.

Understandably, there was scepticism. Magnussen certainly had a good time at the Olympics in Paris last year – he didn’t mind a drink at local French watering holes – while juggling media commitments with News Corp.

Australian James Magnussen features in the new Enhanced Games documentary.Credit: Enhanced Games

When he returned to Australia, he found it difficult to find pools to train in.

“I can’t train with any squads or registered coaches,” Magnussen said. “You also can’t dive off the blocks in pools in Sydney.

“If you don’t have a coach keeping you on track and doing programs, getting times, keeping an eye on stroke rates … you’re very isolated. I was of the opinion that under those circumstances, I wasn’t going to be able to do a proper preparation. That’s why I linked up with Hawkey [Brett Hawke]. He’s not connected to any clubs or colleges.”

After some initial medical testing, Magnussen flew to the US in October and shared an Airbnb with his strength-and-conditioning trainer Dan Malmberg.

Under the guidance of Hawke, who mentored 50m freestyle world record holder Cielo, the trio got to work.

Again, the issue of pools was a problem.

“We had to turn our training to a public pool that is in my complex,” Hawke said. “It was a four-lane 25-yard pool that was heated. We did that for three months.

“The enhancements were working. He was getting stronger and faster in the pool.”

James Magnussen after taking performance-enhancing substances. Credit: Enhanced Games

The drugs and the dilemma

All of Magnussen’s performance-enhancing drugs were administered by medical professionals, who continually monitored his preparation.

Athletes at the Enhanced Games are not obliged to publicly disclose what drugs they have taken, but Magnussen is more than happy to go on the record.

“I’m definitely allowed to say that I was taking peptides and testosterone, which is pretty much it to be honest,” he said. “We tried a few different things on top of that.

“We used BPC-157, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin and Thymosin. The BPC-157 and Thymosin is for recovery and to prevent injuries. It promotes healing in the body. The CJC and Ipamorelin enhances your body’s natural production of growth hormone. You’re not injecting growth hormone into you. You’re maximising your body’s own potential.

“The testosterone is the superpower. That’s what gets you bounding out of bed in the morning, lifting massive weights and feeling your best.”

Was there any trepidation?

“It all felt safe because I did it all with doctors and under medical supervision,” Magnussen said. “I’d go for weekly check-ups at the doctors where they were checking a full suite of health markers. It’s quite confrontational and intense.

“You know what it is? It’s that stigma you have from having been an athlete and hating the fact there were other athletes out there doing this. You kind of get yourself in the headspace of this is a new frontier. It’s separate. It’s pioneering. That’s going to be the mental hurdle for most athletes. That was the most eye-opening part. After that first time, it just becomes routine to be honest.”

The effect of the drugs

Hawke and Magnussen noticed significant changes in the swimmer’s body, coupled with a remarkable ability to recover from workouts.

In his prime, as a 100m freestyle specialist, Magnussen’s race weight was 95 kilograms.

In the days after he was administered medically approved drugs, he gained 5kg in 10 days and ultimately ballooned out to 115kg.

“Every time we did something hard, instead of it taking 48 hours to fully recover, he was fully recovered in 24 hours,” Hawke said. “We were stacking workout on workout.”

The results were startling.

“I got jacked,” Magnussen said. “I was probably 10 to 15 kilos bigger than any swimmer there’s ever been. I did the first seven weeks straight, training twice a day. It was 49 days straight of high-intensity work in the pool and gym.

“The increases in strength are insane. I was squatting over 500 pounds [227kg] and doing bench press with like 120-pound [54kg] dumbbells. I was pumping out reps like it was nothing. The strength stuff was crazy. The thing we struggled with was I just kept putting on size.

“I was probably peaking around Christmas. I kept lifting heavier. I just kept increasing the intensity. What I wasn’t taking into account was that my central nervous system wasn’t recovering at the same rate as my muscles. I’d feel strong and have energy but I didn’t have that pop in my swimming. I think I buried myself a bit at times.”

Kristian Gkolomeev and James Magnussen training in the USA. Credit: Enhanced Games

If Magnussen had his time again, he would have attempted the 50m freestyle world record in December. Of course, it would not be classified as a legal world record. But the people trying to the Enhanced Games off the ground were desperate for Magnussen to succeed.

By the end of last year, Magnussen had hit a wall. To make matters worse, he had to have root-canal surgery on Christmas Day. Spending it alone was not his idea of fun.

Complications around getting the right swimming suits and finding a quality pool for filming stalled Magnussen’s attempt to break the world record on February 25.

New guy on the block

Gkolomeev was intrigued when he heard about Magnussen’s involvement in the Enhanced Games.

Seeking a fresh challenge and the chance to make big cash, Gkolomeev joined Hawke and Magnussen. However, Gkolomeev took a more conservative approach with his drug program.

“It’s not something I’m used to,” Magnussen said. “He said he signed up for the Enhanced Games after he heard me doing a podcast about it. The fact that he’d kind of followed my lead in that way was nice.”

Hawke added: “He got really fast, really quickly. He decided he was gonna have a crack at the world record.”

After an argument over who would wear what suits – an irritated Magnussen felt Gkolomeev had been given a better one – the Australian was given first crack at the world record and the $US1 million bounty.

Australian coach Brett Hawke has signed on with the Enhanced Games.Credit: Enhanced Games

“They had this big argument for about an hour in my room,” Hawke said. “It didn’t go great … there was a lot of of tension.”

After three attempts the next day, Magnussen’s best time was 22.73. His body had become too big, and he wasn’t at his peak.

Hawke and Magnussen knew deep down the world record was going to be extremely unlikely given his size and energy levels. From three attempts, Magnussen clocked a best time of 22.73, which was 1.21 seconds slower than his personal best of 21.52 in 2013.

“By the time I got there, I was spent,” Magnussen said. “It felt like the end of a really long journey rather than the pinnacle of high performance. There were some stressful moments around it because we couldn’t get suits right up until the last day. People were flying to other states to get suits off retired swimmers.

“I felt strong, I felt good in the water and my technique felt good, but I just had no go. It’s annoying because I did faster times than that in training. I kind of knew by the time we got there. I’ll talk myself into anything, but I kind of knew in the weeks leading up. We had a plan for the protocol to peak at week 12, but I ended up being on the protocol for 20 weeks.

“I didn’t get a million bucks as well, which is annoying. I think the main thing for me was I got a really good understanding of this process and what to do, how to train for it.”

Then came Gkolomeev’s attempt, in a banned, bright red suit of polyurethane fabric used by some open water swimmers.

How fast can someone go?

Of course, there are caveats to the performances. Wearing a banned suit and taking drugs will always have an effect.

But the Enhanced Games are keen to explore where humans can go.

Magnussen’s training and attempt wasn’t for nothing. He is paid a handsome retainer by the Enhanced Games and has signed on for the first proper instalment.

The inevitable questions will be asked.

What if a young swimmer now wanted to take drugs and join the Enhanced Games? Does Magnussen care about the backlash?

James Magnussen during his swimming career. Credit: AP

“Yeah, I don’t care at this point,” Magnussen said. “The main people’s opinions that I care about I’ve already spoken to. Even people within my own circle and my own family don’t necessarily love the idea, but they’ve said they’ll support me, no matter what I do.

“I’m actually excited. I feel like this is the fun part now. No more talk. I’ve shown that it can be done safely. Kristian’s come in and broken a world record.

”In Paris, when I was bumping into people, they were like, ‘Oh, is it actually going to happen’? There was a lot of questions around doctors. I’m so glad I did what I did. If I hadn’t done what I did, then Kristian wouldn’t have come across and started training either. We wouldn’t have a world record to show.

“As for people’s opinions on it? I’ve never really lost sleep throughout my career based on public feedback.

“I think for young kids it’s a really important conversation for parents to have with them. It is a moral dilemma that you have to think about. I spoke to Aron and he said, ‘When your 16-year-old kid starts to drive and gets their L-plates, what happens if they watch Formula One? They don’t then just go out and drive 200 kilometres an hour on the roads. The parents sit them down and say this is a sport, this is a high-level athlete and this is not a normal thing to be doing’.

“If you had a kid watching the UFC, you then have to explain to them you can’t go and punch kids in the face in the playground because these are athletes. It’s a different kettle of fish. That’s the way I get my head around it. I think in time, it’ll be an option for elite athletes, for professional athletes, but it will never be a sport for young kids.

“For example, my dad would never even consider taking testosterone. Maybe [he will] after watching these Games and he sees that it’s not dangerous and sketchy stuff made up in bathtubs. It’s prescribed by a doctor and administered by a doctor. It’s done for a reason. It’s not a speculative substance. If guys like my dad knew he could jump out of bed with the energy of a 20-year-old, they’d take that every day of the week. At the moment, there’s a stigma.

“I haven’t had any effects to my health. So my testosterone levels are pretty much back to normal now. I did a full heart screening afterwards. I’ve still been getting my bloods done back here in Australia.”

Who will be next?

The fastest man in the world through water is Cam McEvoy, who boasts a personal best of 21.06 for the 50m freestyle.

Magnussen and Hawke would love to see McEvoy compete, as a clean athlete.

It would certainly pose a moral dilemma.

Cameron McEvoy won gold in Paris after years of just missing out on the podium.Credit: Eddie Jim

“I reckon Cam would be quicker, about 20.3,” Magnussen said. “It’s giving Cam everything that he historically hasn’t had, right? Which is strength and explosive power. He’s always been a really efficient, really technical swimmer.

“If I was Cam and I was going to be able to put a suit on and race for $US1 million – plus be paid as an athlete – for me it would be a no-brainer.

“At this point, there’s been no direct stance made by the IOC or the World Aquatics to say if an athlete swims at that without doping, they can’t come back to the proper games. I don’t see how they could say that because if you stayed in the testing pool the whole time, then it shouldn’t be an issue. It seems like a free hit.

“It’s going to take this first Games and first year for people to sit back and watch it and I think de-risk themselves. A lot of athletes are unwilling to take a risk like that. I haven’t spoken to Cam in a long time, but I think a lot of the guys at the top of the game currently will sit back and watch for this first year and get an understanding of it and see that it’s legit.

“If you look at the people at the top level, in terms of investors, these aren’t guys that have had big misses in their lives. The money’s there.”

What now?

“I’m just doing a big base of aerobic work and to get my body weight down,” Magnussen said. “I want to come into my next preparation basically under race weight. I then want to bring my weight up with the protocol. I’ve been running 30ks a week and swimming three times a week. I’ve been doing general conditioning work in the gym four times a week.

“It’s just full steam ahead. I’ve got time to prepare, and I’m really excited to start seeing other athletes sign on.”