Enhanced Games is finally here - causing dismay and intrigue
For the many critics, 'Sin City' provides a fitting backdrop to what they see as a disturbing spectacle, one which they say normalises doping, undermines the long fight against cheating and risks the health of those taking part. Those behind the so-called 'Steroid Olympics' insist the event will reward athletic excellence, celebrate scientific innovation and explore human potential. So what forces lie behind the Enhanced Games?
Is it a sign of things to come? And what questions is it forcing sport - and wider society - to confront? Three months have passed since a group of about 40 Enhanced Games athletes representing sprinting, swimming and weightlifting gathered in Abu Dhabi for an all-expenses-paid training camp in a luxury resort boasting state-of-the-art sports facilities.
Enticed there by the kind of appearance fees that most could only dream of, along with the tantalising prospect of a $1m prize if they could beat the world record in their discipline, the event presented an opportunity to extend or revive sporting careers. At a hospital about 20 minutes' drive away on the outskirts of the city, the athletes were offered individually tailored programmes of 'enhancement protocols' - substances strictly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) but allowed there. Although the competitors are yet to declare exactly what they have each taken, it can be revealed that the performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) administered included testosterone, anabolic steroids (such as methenolone and nandrolone), hormones and growth factors (including HGH and EPO), metabolic modulators and stimulants.
While BBC Sport was not granted access to the hospital when it visited the Enhanced Games training camp in February, organisers have emphasised that these substances were all approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and given as part of a clinical trial under strict medical supervision with all participants monitored. Since its launch however, the project has been condemned by sports bodies and anti-doping authorities. Amid the backlash, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Wada called it "immoral" and "a dangerous and irresponsible concept" in a joint statement last year.
World Athletics president Lord Coe said anyone taking part was "moronic" . And World Aquatics then became the first governing body to ban anyone involved from its events. Enhanced Games - a sporting revolution or dangerous doping?
Continue to the original source for the full article.