Emmanuel Matadi was announced on Monday as the latest sprinter to join Enhanced ahead of the company’s planned showcase in Las Vegas in May 2026.
Matadi was revealed as part of seven athlete additions to Enhanced that also includes five swimmers Isabella Arcila, Natalia Fryckowska, Felipe Lima, Max McCusker, Evgenii Somov and weightlifter Beatriz Pirón.
Fred Kerley and Mouhamadou Fall are now joined by Matadi as part of a growing sprint lineup. He has competed in three Olympics, including the 2024 Paris Games where he represented Liberia. In Paris, he reached the men’s 100m semifinal but did not advance. Meanwhile, Matadi is the Liberian national record holder in the 100m after clocking 9.91 last year.
“Emmanuel is an internationally accomplished Olympic level sprinter respected across the track community for his talent and we’re fortunate to have him join us for what is shaping up to be a very competitive sprinting field as well,” Enhanced’s Chief Sporting Officer Rick Adams said in a statement.
Despite being widely criticized for allowing athletes to use of banned substances, the company appears undeterred and has navigated a mixed year of in its brief existence that has culminated in the announcement of a plan to go public.
In late November, the company revealed founder Aron D’Souza would no longer lead Enhanced as co-founder Maximilian Martin steps in as chief executive. Enhanced has also teamed with with blank-check company A Paradise Acquisition Corp. in a merger that will facilitate the IPO and value the deal at $1.2 billion.
As part of going public Enhanced says an estimated $200 million can be raised. The company also revealed noted that it inked a $40 million equity deal that will be converted into public shares once the IPO is approved.
The company is also accepting deposits for a line of testosterone boosting drugs that will likely go on sale next year in a cleared definition of how it will conduct business. The Enhanced Games event would act as a promotional outlet, of sorts, for the consumer drug arm of the company.
As for the Las Vegas showcase, the company has already unveiled mockups of what the event will look like in May despite objections from some of the sporting world’s authorities like the World Anti-Doping Agency. But some athletes are willing to sign with Enhanced and stand to win their share of a $500,000 purse per event and $250,000 to all first-place finishers. There will be bonuses for world records along with appearance fees.
