Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances.
His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime.
Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in March.
Photo: AFP
“It was a great race... I got it,” said Gkolomeev, who pocketed a US$1 million bonus for the unofficial record. “Maybe next year I’ll break it again.”
The Enhanced Games were denounced as dangerous by athletics governing bodies and anti-doping agencies, citing serious health risks for participants.
Participants, lured by prize money including US$250,000 for event wins, included Olympic medallist swimmers James Magnussen, Cody Miller and Ben Proud.
Co-founder Max Martin had said “quite a few” world records would be “beaten.” The night turned out to be littered with near-misses until Gkolomeev’s dramatic triumph.
Proud won the men’s 50m butterfly in 22.32, 0.05 short of the world record.
“We all know what we came for. And that’s world records. And so, to be that agonizingly close, it’s frustrating,” Proud said.
Gkolomeev earlier swam 46.60 for the 100m freestyle, missing the world record of 46.40.
“I think tonight, yes, we did expect a few more world records to happen. But at the end of the day, this is live sports, and this is always something that you can never plan for,” Martin said. “We’ve had certain injuries today with athletes that couldn’t participate because of that.”
More than a dozen personal records were set, including several by athletes who came out of retirement. US swimmer Miller rolled back the years to win the 50m men’s breaststroke, telling the crowd he was delighted to shave “seven-tenths off my personal best at 34.”
The vast majority of the 42 competing sprinters, swimmers and weightlifters were taking typically banned substances such as testosterone and anabolic steroids, but the handful who opted to compete clean also achieved wins.
The men’s 50m backstroke was won by Hunter Armstrong in 24.21, the clean swimmer defeating two rivals who had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
“Unenhanced” sprinters Fred Kerley, of the US, and Tristan Evelyn, of Barbados, won the 100m sprints. Kerley ran 9.97 in the men’s, while Evelyn ran 11.25 in the women’s.
“Man, they got to do better than that. They need to train a little harder. Get on that shit a little bit more,” said Kerley, a former 100m world champion who is serving a suspension for missing drug tests.
Weightlifters Beatriz Piron, Boady Santavy and Wesley Kitts all attempted unprecedented snatch lifts in their categories, but fell short — despite organizers bending the rules to give the two men a fourth attempt each.
“Man, if I had about four more weeks [in training] I’d say I’d have had a good shot at it,” Kitts said.
Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson, known for his role as “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones, could not quite break his own deadlift record of 510kg.
Donald Trump Jr and tech oligarch Peter Thiel were among the investors for the event, which took place at a purpose-built arena in a Las Vegas casino parking lot.
Health experts warned that several of the substances being taken could risk “life-shortening and fatal consequences,” including heart, liver and kidney issues, as so little is known about the long-term effects of doping.
Enhanced Games officials said all medications were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Parent company Enhanced sells many of the substances being taken by its athletes to the public.
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
RSS