The World Anti-Doping Agency hit back at organizers of the Enhanced Games after the agency was included in a reported $800 million anti-trust lawsuit that also names World Aquatics and USA Swimming as trying to “crush” a planned event in Las Vegas next year.
The event would permit competitors in track and field, swimming, weightlifting and other disciplines to use performance enhancing drugs and on Wednesday, WADA slammed the proposed showcase as “ill-conceived.”
“WADA stands by the firm position it has taken against this ill-conceived event,” the agency said in a statement. “(It) welcomes the unequivocal support it has received from numerous athletes, governments of the world, UNESCO, international sporting federations, medical associations and others, who all see the Enhanced Games as a potential threat to athlete safety.”
Enhanced Games revealed in May that it plans an Olympic-style competition with eight different sports and the event will be staged on the Las Vegas Strip.
Enhanced founder Aron D’Souza’s said at the time that the aim of the company was to push the boundaries of competition and athletes would be allowed to use widely banned items like testosterone, growth hormones and other substances.
“An age of superhumanity, an age of enhancement where three of humanity’s most important endeavors — science, medicine and sport — have now merged together,” D’Souza said in May. “This is going to be an important juncture in human history.”
And it appears Enhanced Games organizers are adamant about challenging its critics after filing an $800 million antitrust lawsuit that names WADA, World Aquatics and USA Swimming as defendants and claims that there are efforts to persuade athletes to not participate in its event.
World Aquatics has already said earlier in June that it would ban any swimmers who take part in events that permit restricted substances.
In an added regulations change, the Switzerland-based World Aquatics affirmed that “under the new bylaw, individuals who support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods will not be eligible to hold positions with World Aquatics or to participate in any World Aquatics competitions, events, or other activities.”
That change to its bylaws initially promoted Enhanced Games organizers to file its lawsuit.
The suit says that in 2025, World Aquatics events in 2024 paid 319 swimmers $71 million in prize money while the upcoming Enhanced Games in 2026 will have a “potential prize purse of $7.5 million for just a single day of competition.”
Each Enhanced Games event will offer a $500,000 purse and $250,000 to all first-place finishers, including bonuses for world records and appearance fees.
In May, Enhanced claimed that claimed that swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev broke a pair of world 50m freestyle world records and said he would be awarded a $1 million prize for his performance.
The company was founded in 2020 when D’Souza, an Australian businessman and lawyer, said that he realized gym users were clearly taking anabolic steroids. He wanted to create a platform that was a gateway for people to freely use the substances of their choice.
Enhanced received financial backing from the Donald Trump, Jr.-affiliated 1789 Capital, a firm that that also includes Omeed Malik and Chris Buskirk. Hedge fund Karatage and Apeiron Investment Group are also named as investors along with Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel and technology investor Christian Angermayer with former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan also listed.
