The Enhanced Games promised a revolution. Athletes on supervised drug regimens, unshackled from the anti-doping rules of the Olympics, were going to show us what the human body was truly capable of. The event was trans-humanism in practice \u2013 a glimpse at humanity\u2019s athletic future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What it actually delivered was a single world record, broken by a fraction of a second, by the same swimmer who\u2019d already claimed that honour at the pilot event the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Enhanced Games introduced potential health risks to athletes by allowing them to take performance-enhancing substances. I previously argued that people are only ok with dangerous sporting events, like boxing, when the entertainment is good enough. It looks like the Enhanced Games may have failed that test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founded in 2023 and dubbed the \u201cSteroid Olympics\u201d by critics, the Enhanced Games stripped away anti-doping rules and let athletes use a wide range of performance-enhancing substances \u2013 testosterone, growth hormone, peptides, stimulants \u2013 under medical supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2026 with a heavily publicised enterprise valuation of around $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pitch was ideological as much as commercial. The event\u2019s founder, Australian entrepreneur Aron D’Souza, framed enhancement as a matter of individual freedom. He said the event would \u201cbreak world records and fundamentally change the trajectory of not just sport, but humanity as a whole\u201d. His vision was for science and sport to converge to \u201credefine human limits\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crucially, the Enhanced Games were sold on results. D’Souza promised spectators faster, stronger athletes than they\u2019d ever seen before. We were led to believe that a new generation of superhumans would smash the old world records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the organisers\u2019 claim that the event \u201cchanged the world tonight\u201d, the Enhanced Games fell far short of their promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of 22 events, only one world record was broken. Kristian Gkolomeev, wearing a futuristic super suit, completed the men\u2019s 50m swimming freestyle in 20.81 seconds \u2013 0.07 seconds under the standing world record. However, he\u2019d already clocked a comparable time in a demonstration swim the year before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More damaging for the event\u2019s central thesis: three athletes who said they were clean won events. In athletics, Fred Kerley won the men\u2019s 100m, Tristan Evelyn won the women\u2019s 100m, while Hunter Armstrong won the men\u2019s 50m swimming backstroke. The event did not clearly demonstrate a dramatic performance advantage for enhanced athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n