A serious health alert has been raised for athletes set to compete in the Enhanced Games this Sunday (May 24) in Las Vegas, following the event’s decision to permit performance-enhancing substances without pre-competition drug testing.
This weekend (May 24) will see the first Enhanced Games staged, bringing together events in track, swimming, weightlifting and strongman.
A number of former Olympians are among those entering, even after the World Athletics president Lord Coe criticised the concept as
‘moronic’.
The premise is straightforward: it is a multi-sport competition where athletes can use performance-enhancing drugs without undergoing testing prior to taking part.
The event has drawn major backlash, particularly over the way it lures competitors with huge payouts — including up to one million dollars for breaking a world
‘record’,
while simultaneously encouraging athletes to chase the edge of human capability.
Founder Aron D’Souza argues the opposite, maintaining that athletes should be free to make their own choices about what they put into their bodies.
However, one health professional has cautioned that, regardless of the messaging around the Games, the human body still has
‘limits’.
Amir Bhogal, Superintendent Lead Pharmacist and Director of Pyramid Pharmacy Group, said some of the harms linked to drug use can remain
‘quietly’
present even when they are not immediately obvious.
“One of the biggest concerns with steroid use is the amount of strain it can place on the cardiovascular system,” he said.
The health expert added:
“People taking performance-enhancing substances are already placing their body under intense physical pressure through extreme training schedules, and when you add enhancement on top of that, the body can end up operating under a level of stress that is difficult to sustain.”
He warned that athletes competing on Sunday could face
‘dehydration, blood pressure spikes, abnormal heart rhythms, overheating and injury related to pushing the body beyond normal physiological limits’.
Bhogal also suggested the Games could help
‘normalise enhancement culture’
in the wider world, pointing out that elite competitors may have doctors, medical treatment and testing available that the
‘wider public’
typically would not.
“The concern is not just about the athletes themselves, but also the message it sends,” the pharmacist said.
Although the Enhanced Games permits performance-enhancing substances — including testosterone, anabolic steroids, hormones and growth factors (such as HGH and EPO), metabolic modulators and stimulants — participants still have boundaries they must follow.
It is not presented as a total free-for-all on substance use.
Athletes are restricted to substances approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning cocaine, heroin and other illicit, non-prescription drugs remain banned.
At the same time, organisers say competitors using performance-enhancing substances will have medical oversight, including ongoing physiological monitoring and medical profiling designed to reduce the risk of dangerous over-use.
It’s also worth noting athletes do not have to take any substances to enter —
‘un-enhanced’
competitors can participate too, creating a setup that compares medically augmented performance with entirely natural limits.