Australian swimming stars slam ‘juiced up’ Enhanced Games farce

Two Australian Olympic gold medallists have taken aim at the controversial Enhanced Games after a world record was broken.

Australian swimmers Ariarne Titmus and Cam McEvoy have lashed out at the Enhanced Games in the wake of a world record being broken.

The controversial competition was thrust back into the spotlight this week when it was revealed Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev had broken the 50m freestyle world record.

Gkolomeev – aided by undisclosed substances and a polyurethane suit not approved for Olympic use – toppled the mark at an Enhanced Games competition pool in North Carolina in February.

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The 21-year-old touched the wall in 20.89 seconds to beat the 20.91 world record set by Cesar Cielo in 2009 to snare a US$1m (A$1.56m) prize.

The record breaking swim, which won’t be officially recognised by World Aquatics, didn’t sit well with Titmus who said it was deflating for athletes who are following the rules.

You can watch Gkolomeev breaking the 50m world record in the player at the top of the page.

“I actually saw that this morning – I’ve never heard of this guy in my life, but he broke the men’s 50m freestyle world record juiced up,” she said on Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren.

“I was looking at it on my phone … this is a bit of a kick in the bum to any athlete who’s ever worked their whole life to train.

“Everyone’s obviously able to have their own opinion, but I don’t like it.”

McEvoy isn’t on board with the Games. Pic: Michael Klein

Ariarne said they were a kick in the guts to clean athletes. Picture: Adam Head

An exasperated Titmus added that she and fellow “clean” athletes have to go through so much and keep in constant communication with drug testers.

“We have to go through so many processes to be clean. All the whereabouts, the drug testing, saying where we sleep every night for the drug testers to arrive,” she said.

“You’ve got to do so much to make sure you’re clean. It’s just, I don’t know... “

McEvoy, who won the 50m freestyle gold at the Paris Olympics, voiced his concerns over the Enhanced Games and questioned the meaning behind it all.

“It doesn’t count in any way, shape or form when you take drugs or wear one of the banned suits, or both,” McEvoy said to The Sydney Morning Herald.

“It’s got no relevance to Olympic or World Championship 50-metre comps, or to the international rankings around them.”

James Magnussen during his training for the Enhanced Games.

Retired Australian swimmer James Magnussen, who is the face of the controversial Enhanced Games, famously announced his mission to “juice to the gills” and win the $1m cash prize by breaking the 50m world record on performance enhancing drugs while appearing on the Hello Sport Podcast.

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

The 34-year-old recently called on McEvoy to join him at the inaugural Games which will take place from May 21-24 next year at Resorts World Las Vegas.

“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,” Magnussen said in an interview with The Age.

“I get it. The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport at the moment and it’s what we all strive towards. At this point for Cam, he sees it like a sideshow. People will realise that Enhanced Games is the real deal.

“It’s happening. It’s not just hypothetical. The money’s there. There will be a flood of athletes coming over in year two.”

Around 100 athletes are expected to compete at the inaugural event next year, with many competitors’ names kept secret until closer to the event.

The Enhanced Games plans to pay $US250,000 for each gold medal and $US1 million to anyone who breaks a world record in the 100m sprint or the 50m freestyle.

The Games will have four swimming events, the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m butterfly.

While in athletics there will be the 100m sprint and 100m hurdles.

Athletes can choose to remain “natural” or enhance their performance with substances – under the watchful eye of Enhanced Games medical staff.

“The Enhanced Games welcomes athletes across three categories: natural athletes, independently enhanced athletes, and athletes enhanced through protocols designed and supervised by our medical team,” Aron D’Souza said in a statement announcing the Games on Thursday (AEST).

“We live in a world transformed by science – from vaccines to AI. But sport has stood still. Until today.

“We are not updating the rule book. We are re-writing it. And we’re doing it safely, ethically, and boldly.”

Originally published as Australian swimming stars slam ‘juiced up’ Enhanced Games farce