IMPROVED GAMES: Swimmer Emily Barclay has become the latest British athlete to join the competition

Enhanced gaming was launched as a concept in 2023, with some doping procedures permitted under medical supervision.

Only substances approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be taken, which is different from the list permitted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for elite athletes.

Organizers claimed that the event “will provide transparency and health safety by destigmatizing enhancement – ​​highlighting its responsible use, within an approved medical framework, which protects athletes who may risk their health by working in the dark to circumvent the punitive structures in place today.”

However, the event has been criticized for endangering the health of athletes and undermining fair play, with WADA calling it a “dangerous and irresponsible enterprise”, and USADA CEO Travis Tygart calling it a “clown show”.

Earlier this month, UK Athletics (UKA) said it did not recognize improv athletics as “legitimate sporting competition”.

The UKA said it “puts the health and wellbeing of athletes at serious risk”, adding that “any event that encourages or permits the use of harmful substances with the aim of pushing the human body to its limits to achieve short-term goals is not sport as we value it”.

The enhanced Games are scheduled to be an annual competition, initially involving short-distance swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, with the inaugural event scheduled to be held in Las Vegas on May 24, 2026.

The event offers attendance fees and rewards, with Greek swimmer Christian Jekolomiev taking home a $1 million (£739,000) prize for breaking the world record in the US in February 2025.

Organizers said he swam 20.89 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle, 0.02 seconds faster than the world record set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in December 2009, although the world will not recognize that time.