Banned by local pools, James Magnussen is moving to LA to chase $1 million Enhanced Games bounty

Newly engaged James Magnussen will move to the United States after he was effectively banned from training in Australia in his pursuit of a $1 million bounty at the Enhanced Games.

Newly engaged swim star James Magnussen is moving to Los Angeles to pursue his Enhanced Games $1 million dreams after being effectively banned from training in Australian pools in his quest to become the fastest man in history.

The former world champion cannot train with any registered Australian coach due to the controversial nature of the Enhanced Games program he is pursuing, even though he is yet to commence any drug program himself, and has decided to relocate to the US to train under sprint SuperCoach Brett Hawke.

He has also been blocked from doing any dives at any pool in Australia because he is not an official swim club member and legally the council pools won’t allow him to practice off the starting blocks.

He is now at the point where he can’t train at the level required to break the 50m freestyle world record and win the $1m bounty next year.

James Magnussen (right) has been banned from using starting blocks in Australian pools. Photo: Getty Images

“It’s just so hard in Australia down to the point where pools in Australia won’t let me dive off the diving blocks because I’m not part of the swim club,” he said.

“At times it is a bit ridiculous but such are the times we live in. So for me it’s become too hard. So much of the 50m freestyle is focused on the dive, start and underwater that I can’t afford to go through the whole preparation without access to those facilities.

“To give myself the best opportunity to break this world record I need to be with the best coach.

“He has the past two world record holders so I figure what better man to lead me to the world record attempt than Brett Hawke.”

Hawke is a world renowned sprint guru, but he created global headlines when he strongly questioned China’s Pan Zhanle’s world record 100m freestyle victory at the Paris Olympics, claiming the swim was “not humanly possible.”

Well-known Australian swim coach Brett Hawke says Pan Zhanle’s stunning 100m freestyle world record swim in Paris was “not humanly possible”, as he led the international disbelief among some at a performance for the ages. Picture: Supplied

Now he will get the chance to prove just what is possible with an athlete “juiced to the gills”.

Magnussen’s US move has been debated for months, but happened rather abruptly. On Monday he made the decision. He quit his SEN radio show on Wednesday and has spent the week organising his US life including finding a house to rent, a visa, new bank details, a car and a phone.

Just months after proposing to long term girlfriend Rose McEvoy in Europe, he will wave goodbye to his fiance on Friday as she remains in Sydney with a new job while he leaves to start his intense “training camp.”

Magnussen proposed to Rose McEvoy while on holiday in Europe last August. Picture: Instagram

On the way to LA will be a stopover at the Enhanced Games medical headquarters in Doha where he will undergo organ testing, blood tests, body scans, MRIs and VO2 max testing so doctors can determine the exact drug program that will boost his athletic performance.

Doctors in Australia, Doha and LA will monitor his health changes closely as Magnussen becomes a virtual guinea pig to new-age medical treatments and the impact it can have on high performance sport.

Having followed Hawke’s program remotely training on his own in local pools, Magnussen is supremely confident he can become the fastest man in history.

“I’m at the point now where I am thinking, ‘wow, how fast could I go without enhancements even’,” he said.

“The next part of the journey starts in earnest when I get over there to LA, then we will really start ramping it up and getting serious about that record.”

Magnussen is fully informed on the progress of the Games. He knows the competition dates and potential competitors and expects global reaction to swing from condemnation to embracing the opportunity once the full details are revealed in 2025.

“There is nothing to say an athlete who comes across and competes at the Enhanced Games has to take performance enhancing substances,” he said.

“(Australia’s Olympic champion) Cam McEvoy could come across and break the world record wearing a supersuit if he was up to it.

“The monetary reward has been well publicised but the opportunities and scope of these Games I think is going to start to become very enticing for a lot of athletes around the world.”

Originally published as Banned by local pools, James Magnussen is moving to LA to chase $1 million Enhanced Games bounty