Enhanced Games Open in Las Vegas Allowing Medicalized Doping

Overview

• The Enhanced Games are taking place in Las Vegas from May 21–24, 2026, staging athletics, swimming and weightlifting events where organizers explicitly permit performance‑enhancing drugs under supervised protocols.
• Organizers say there will be no conventional anti‑doping controls and that an independent Medical and Scientific Commission, which includes named scientists, will conduct health checks and oversee use of substances.
• The event permits drugs such as EPO, testosterone and anabolic steroids according to organizer statements, and it frames use of legally prescribable medicines as part of a scientific enhancement program.
• A roster of former elite athletes, including Fred Kerley, James Magnussen and Mouhamadou Fall, are participating after receiving signing payments, and prize offers include $250,000 for a win, double for a world record, and $1 million for beating Usain Bolt’s 100m mark.
• Backed by tech and biotech investors including Peter Thiel and funding linked to 1789 Capital, the privately financed, livestreamed event has drawn sharp denunciations from WADA and national bodies and will bar participants from federation and Olympic eligibility, raising concerns about athlete safety and the normalization of doping.