Las Vegas (AFP) – Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive event where competitors 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 had predicted that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was also wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, went faster than Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s mark of 20.88 set in March.
“It was a great race…I got it,” said Gkolomeev, who pocketed a $1 million bonus for the unofficial record. “Maybe next year I’ll break it again.” The Enhanced Games have been denounced as dangerous by athletics governing bodies and anti-doping agencies, citing serious health risks for participants. Participants, lured by prize money including $250,000 for event wins, included Olympic medallist swimmers James Magnussen, Cody Miller, and Ben Proud. Co-founder Max Martin had predicted “quite a few” world records would be “beaten.” The night turned out to be littered with near-misses until Gkolomeev’s dramatic triumph.
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Britain’s Proud won the men’s 50m butterfly in 22.32 seconds, just 0.05 off the world mark. “We all know what we came for. And that’s world records. And so, to be that agonizingly close, it’s frustrating,” said the Paris 2024 silver medallist. Gkolomeev earlier clocked 46.60 seconds in 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 told AFP. “We’ve had certain injuries today with athletes that couldn’t participate because of that,” he added.
– Clean athletes win –
More than a dozen personal bests 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.” But while the vast majority of the 42 competing sprinters, swimmers, and weightlifters were taking typically banned substances such as testosterone and anabolic steroids, the handful who opted to compete clean also achieved wins. The men’s 50m backstroke was won by Hunter Armstrong in 24.21 seconds, the clean swimmer defeating two rivals who had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
“Unenhanced” sprinters Fred Kerley, of the United States, and Tristan Evelyn, of Barbados, won the 100m sprints. Kerley ran 9.97 seconds in the men’s, while Evelyn achieved 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,” joked 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,” said Kitts. Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson, better known as “The Mountain” in “Game of Thrones”, could not quite break his own deadlift record of 510 kg.
– Long-term fears –
Donald Trump Jr. and billionaire Peter Thiel were among the investors for the event, which took place at a lavish 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.
© 2024 AFP
