Controversial sporting event that encourages performance enhancement will focus on swimming, weightlifting, and track and field.
It has been announced that the inaugural Enhanced Games will take place in Las Vegas over Memorial Day Weekend in 2026. The controversial event permits athletes – and indeed encourages them – to use performance-enhancing drugs and technologies under medical supervision.
The 2026 Enhanced Games will take place in a purpose-built facility inside Resorts World Las Vegas and will focus on just three sports – swimming, track and field, and weightlifting. Events will include the 50m and 100m freestyle and butterfly, the 100m sprint and hurdles, and the snatch and clean & jerk, with $250,000 awarded to first-place finishers and million-dollar bonuses for world records in the 100m sprint and 50m freestyle.
The launch announcement revealed that enhanced Greek Olympic swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev has already broken the longstanding 50-meter freestyle world record with a time of 20.89 seconds, earning him a $1 million prize under the Games’ incentive model.
“This isn’t just about breaking records,” said Gkolomeev. “It’s about breaking limits. The Enhanced Games gave me the resources and the team to unlock a new level of performance – and now the whole world can see what’s possible.”

Unlike traditional sporting competitions governed by strict anti-doping regulations, the Enhanced Games explicitly rejects World Anti-Doping Agency rules, positioning itself as a platform where athletes can push the boundaries of human performance using the latest advancements in pharmacology, biotechnology and medical science. By bringing enhancement practices out of the shadows and into a regulated, transparent environment, the Games are claimed to have the potential to reduce the dangers of unregulated doping, which often occurs in secrecy and without medical supervision.
Longevity on the agenda
Founded by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza and pro-longevity investor Christian Angermayer, the Enhanced Games frames itself as a catalyst for scientific progress in human enhancement. By allowing and clinically supervising the use of performance-enhancing drugs, gene therapies, advanced prosthetics and even emerging technologies like brain-computer interfaces, the event claims its goal is to accelerate research and development in fields relevant to health, aging and human potential.
“We live in a world transformed by science – from vaccines to AI,” said D’Souza. “But sport has stood still. Until today. We are not updating the rulebook – we are rewriting it. And we’re doing it safely, ethically, and boldly.”

The Games’ organizers argue that, historically, sports have driven innovation in physiology, nutrition and medical technology, and that removing the taboo around enhancement could unlock new therapies and approaches that could benefit human longevity. The initiative, they suggest, could have spillover effects for the general population, informing new treatments for age-related diseases, muscle wasting and cognitive decline.
The Enhanced Games has sought support from the wider longevity community, including high-profile figures like George Church, Bryan Johnson and Dave Asprey. The event’s advocates see it as an opportunity to test and refine enhancement technologies that could one day help people remain healthier and more productive as they age.
Despite its lofty ambitions, the Enhanced Games faces significant criticism from the sporting world, medical professionals and anti-doping agencies, who warn of the potential health risks, ethical concerns and societal consequences of normalizing drug use in sport. Whether the Games could ultimately benefit human health and longevity remains a subject of intense debate.
Photographs courtesy of the Enhanced Games.
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