“What’s happening here could well go beyond a simple niche sporting event. The question is whether sport is becoming the testing ground for much broader cultural change.†It is with this somewhat distressing sentence that the BBC presents those who in his eyes are the deep issues of “Enhanced Games†. This competition, which took place on Sunday May 24 in Las Vegas, in the United States, is based on a simple concept: authorizing doping substances for the athletes who participate. “Olympics on steroids, literally… laughs the British media.
The idea is to maximize the performance of athletes through the – supervised – intake of testosterone, human growth hormones, anabolic steroids and other products banned during events such as the Olympic Games. “For Enhanced, the company behind these games, notes the London news site, it would also be a question of denouncing hypocrisy, since many athletes allegedly cheat and take doping substances underground.â€
Obviously, this competition does not depend on any sports federation and the performances that have been recorded in swimming, athletics and weightlifting will not be considered officially valid outside of these games. However, renowned athletes, attracted by the monumental winnings made available by the organizers (one million dollars for broken records and $250,000 for a victory) made the trip to Las Vegas. Like the swimmer James Magnussen, world champion in 100 meters freestyle in 2011 and 2013, who had doped “under supervision†for two years. For what results?
“The 35-year-old finished last in the 100-meter race, and was nearly two and a half seconds slower than his personal best of 47.10 seconds†, slice, merciless, the Australian antenna of Fox Sports. More generally, notes the media, “Max Martin, co-founder of the event, predicted that ‘quite a few’ world records would be ‘broken’ unofficially. But the tests have not confirmed this prediction….
“A million more isn’t bad at all…
Ultimately, only one record was broken: that of the 50 meter freestyle, by the Greek Kristian Gkolomeev, who, in addition to having taken illicit substances, wore a polyurethane suit, prohibited in official competition. Overall, therefore estimates The Telegraph, “these results raise questions both about the effectiveness of doping products and the level of the athletes who joined the competition†, the latter having probably agreed to participate because attracted by the prospect of “win amounts of money they could only dream of in traditional competitions†.
Kristian Gkolomeev made no secret of it. The man may not end up in the history books, but as he honestly says in his statements relayed by the British media, “a million more isn’t bad at all. It’s going to change my life for the better, that’s for sure.â€
