Olympic Silver Medalist Ben Proud to Compete in Controversial ‘Enhanced Games’
LAS VEGAS – in a stunning progress, British swimmer Ben Proud, a recent Olympic and World cup medalist, has announced his participation in The Enhanced Games, a competition explicitly permitting the use of performance-enhancing substances. The announcement, made Wednesday, marks a significant turning point for the fledgling event, previously attracting athletes past their prime or with already concluded careers.
The Enhanced Games, slated for las Vegas in May of next year, allows competitors to utilize any planning approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including substances currently prohibited by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA). Organizers are offering substantial prize money, with a world record perhaps earning over 9 million SEK (approximately $850,000 USD).
Proud, 29, secured a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2023 World aquatics Championships in Paris and followed that with a silver at the World Cup in Singapore this August. He explained his decision to the BBC, stating, “If I speak for myself, I realistically think I have achieved everything I can, and now The Enhanced Games gives me a new prospect.”
The competition is founded by businessman Aron d’Souza, who has publicly criticized the Olympics as an outdated institution. Reports in American media suggest significant financial backing, potentially including investment from 1789 Equity, with alleged contributions in the tens of millions of dollars, and possible involvement from Donald Trump Jr.
Proud maintains that the use of performance enhancers will be medically supervised and dismissed concerns about the event undermining anti-doping efforts in mainstream sports, asserting, “I definitely don’t think it undermines a pure sport.”
However, his participation comes at a cost; the International Swimming Association has barred Proud from competing in other sanctioned events as a result of his commitment to The Enhanced Games.
