Many an elite athlete has drawn scorn for the use, or suspected use, of performance-enhancing drugs in recent decades: Barry Bonds in baseball, Lance Armstrong in cycling, Marion Jones in track and field and so on.
However, an Australian businessman is asking: What if performance-enhancing drug prohibitions in sports didn’t exist?
Aaron D'Souza has announced plans for a competition in 2024 called the Enhanced Games, an Olympics-like endeavor that will not comply with World Anti-Doping Agency rules and regulations in track and field, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports.
“Each Olympiad another cohort of brave athletes sets new world records only to have their medals revoked, their careers suspended and their names dragged through the mud,” the competition's website says. “It is time to end this oppressive cycle.”
The website contains a video depicting an athlete that D’Souza claims has broken Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world record.
“He has unlocked his body’s true athletic potential,” the website says. “But the world isn’t ready for him. … The Olympics hate him. He has been vilified. He will be vindicated.”
Matt Carroll, the CEO of Australia’s Olympic committee, denounced the Enhanced Games in a presser Monday.
“We know next to nothing about this organization but sport needs to be clean and it needs to be safe for all athletes,” Carroll said. “The Australian Olympic Committee believes the concept of a drug enhanced games is both dangerous and irresponsible.”
