By Daniel Boal, ITV News Producer
Olympic swimmer Ben Proud is a world and European champion at 50 metres freestyle – and at Paris 2024 he took the silver medal in the event.
He has represented Great Britain and England for more than a decade, but now his time in the pool will be spent elsewhere – competing in the controversial Enhanced Games.
Next May in Las Vegas, the inaugural Enhanced Games will kick off, with athletes being able to take performance-enhancing drugs.
However, illegal drugs are not permitted.
Criticism of the event has been scathing. World Aquatics has already said they would ban anyone who signs up for the event – and the 30-year-old swimmer’s involvement has been met with condemnation across the swimming world.
But for Proud, who has spent a lifetime sacrificing for his sport, without much financial reward like many other Olympians, the Enhanced Games are a chance to pursue financial reward while continuing to compete.
What are the Enhanced Games?
The games were originally launched as a concept in 2023 by London-based businessman Aron D’Souza, who says the sporting event “will obliterate all world records” by “unlocking human potential”.
Substances approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are allowed to be taken at the games which will comprise of short-distance swimming, sprinting and weightlifting.
So far, only swimmers have signed up as athletes. With American Megan Romano, retired Australian swimmer James Magnussen, retired Ukrainian swimmer Andriy Govorov, and Bulgaria’s Josef Miladinov pledging to take part.
Why has Proud joined?
The Enhanced Games also offer appearance fees. There is a $1million (£739,655) prize for breaking the 50m freestyle world record. Proud has previously won European gold in the event.
And, at 30 years old, Proud is heading towards the end of his competitive career. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said he was looking to start a family with his partner and the games present a financial opportunity.
“I think (the Enhanced Games) opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way,” he told BBC Sport.
“I think realistically, I’ve achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don’t think that’s undermining a clean sport.
“I really respect the sport I’ve been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I’ve done something which isn’t in the rules.”
“I will never take anything that I am unsure of,” Proud added.
“They are not allowing anyone to participate if they are under any stress or health risks.”
What kind of substances will athletes be taking?
Athletes will be allowed, if not encouraged, to take performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, testosterone, and growth hormones, which are typically legal to possess but are banned in competitive sport.
Organisers hope the event will remove the stigma of using the substances and promote safer ways in which to push human limits.
Critics argue the use of performance enhancers crosses an ethical line, but there are also concerns for the athletes’ long-term health.
According to USADA, the US Anti-Doping Agency, performance-enhancing drugs have the ability to drastically alter the human body and potentially change biological functions.
They also have the ability to improve athletic performance, but can be extremely dangerous and in some situations, fatal.
USADA has stated its mission is to ensure that no athlete considers using performance enhancers to succeed in sport, something that the Enhanced Games relies on as a premise.
For anabolic steroids, which are often misused to boost strength and add muscle – there are a whole host of side effects.
Side effects of anabolic steroids
Men may:
- See their breasts grow
- Notice their testicles shrink
- Not be able to get their partner pregnant
- Learn from a health care provider that their prostate gland has gotten bigger
Women may:
- Get a deeper voice. Treatment may not be able to change it back
- Notice their clitoris has gotten bigger
- Grow more body hair
- Lose the hair on the head, which may never come back
- Stop getting periods or get them much less often than they used to
All people who use anabolic steroids might start to get:
- Severe acne
- A higher risk of swollen or torn tendons
- Liver tumours, or other changes to the liver
- Higher levels of the “bad” cholesterol, called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol
- Lower levels of the “good” cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Problems with the heart and blood flow
- Issues with anger or violence
- Mental health conditions, such as depression
- A need for anabolic steroids that can’t be controlled
- Diseases, such as HIV or hepatitis, if using needles to give shots of the drugs
How has the sports community taken the news?
Aquatics GB said in a statement it was “immensely disappointed” by Proud’s decision.
“Aquatics GB, along with our partners, stand firmly behind the values and principles of clean sport and condemn Ben’s decision in the strongest terms,” the statement added.
A spokesperson for elite sport funding body UK Sport said: “UK Sport condemns everything the Enhanced Games stands for in the strongest possible terms.
“We believe it risks compromising athlete health and welfare, undermines the trust of fans and is the absolute antithesis to our philosophy of winning well. We are incredibly disappointed to learn that any British athlete in one of our Olympic or Paralympic programmes would support such an event.
“We are engaging with our colleagues at Aquatics GB as a matter of urgency to determine Ben Proud’s suitability to receive public funds.
“It is clear however that any breach of anti-doping rules is contrary to the policies which any athlete must comply with to receive UK Sport funding.”
Jane Rumble, UK Anti-Doping’s chief executive, said: “It is incredibly disappointing that any British athlete would consider competing in an event that flies in the face of the true spirit of sport.
“Any decision by any athlete to compete in the Enhanced Games risks undermining the values of a sporting landscape that prizes hard work, integrity, pure talent and 100% clean sport.
“It’s a landscape UK Anti-Doping works hard to protect, so it is with deep concern for all clean athletes, and all those who love sport, that the event may go ahead, with any British athlete saying they will take part. It is an undertaking that diminishes, rather than ‘enhances’, all those involved.”
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