Top athletes from around the world, including Olympic medal winners, are gathering this Memorial Day weekend for a new Donald Trump Jr.-backed competition—and drugs are not only allowed, but encouraged.
Taking place in Las Vegas, the Enhanced Games will host 42 athletes engaged in swimming, weightlifting, and running competitions. A tournament fit for Sin City, the participating athletes here admittedly use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), which are banned for both domestic and international competitions like the Olympics.
These games are organized by Enhanced, which describes itself as a “direct-to-consumer longevity medicine company direct-to-consumer longevity medicine company committed to giving athletes . . . the ability to optimize their health, performance, and recovery.” The company, which went public on May 8, has attracted major investors including Trump Jr.’s investment firm, 1789 Capital, and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel.
Dubbed the “Steroid Olympics,” the event will be held in a custom-built arena for around 2,500 invite-only spectators, according to the organizers. The games, which were first announced in 2023, have unsurprisingly received widespread criticism from organizations like the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). But criticism alone is not stopping the event, which looks to push the limits of human capacity in sports.
The format is simple, with juiced and non-juiced athletes competing to break records and deliver elite performances with $25 million up for grabs.
The controversial sporting event has attracted some notable athletes, including sprinter Fred Kerley and swimmers Cody Miller and James Magnussen, all Olympic medalists.
And while allowing doping may seem like the Enhanced Games are the Wild West, some rules are in place for competitors opting for drugs.
Those who are using substances are to use only those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While the organizers are not releasing specific information on the drug regimen of athletes using PEDs, reports say that athletes have used human growth hormones, testosterone, testosterone esters, metabolic modulators, Adderall, and more. While these are legal substances, they are banned by the WADA.
Some competitors are part of the Enhanced Performance Team, which provides select athletes who are doping with “monthly stipends, coaching, medical oversight, nutritional support, and training camps,” the company’s website says.
The “Steroid Olympics” are also set to offer more than just athletic competition. The games will conclude with a concert headlined by the Killers, with performance-enhancing substances like peptides—which have grown dramatically in popularity this year—available for sale for attendees.