Enhanced Games – At a new Las Vegas event built around medical oversight for performance-enhancing drugs, a Bulgarian swimmer broke a world record and earned $1 million more for winning while using banned substances and a polyurethane “super-suit.” The record still stands with
Las Vegas turned into a stage for elite sport—and for one of the most polarizing ideas in athletics. The city hosted the one-day “Enhanced Games,” where athletes were allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs under medical oversight.
The event’s record books survived. With one exception and a giant asterisk.
The inaugural Enhanced Games took place on May 24, in Las Vegas. In the 50-meter freestyle, Kristian Gkolomeev, a 32-year-old swimmer from Bulgaria, won in 20.81 seconds. That time beat the existing record of 20.88 seconds. but it remains the official record anyway—because the Enhanced Games permitted banned drugs.
Gkolomeev’s payout reflected the event’s bargain with controversy. He received a $1 million bonus on top of $250,000 for winning the event while using banned drugs and a polyurethane “super-suits” banned in 2010, according to coverage from The Guardian and Yahoo Sports.
The sprint portion of the event showed how narrowly the gamble could miss. There weren’t enough PEDs, at least on the track, to threaten Usain Bolt’s 100 meters record of 9.58.
Fred Kerley, a 31-year-old American who won silver in the 100m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze in the 100m at the 2024 Games, said before the race that Bolt’s mark would get “destroyed.” He ended up winning at the Enhanced Games in 9.97 seconds.
Kerley also drew attention for his own position on drugs. He reportedly said he did not used banned drugs during the multi-sport event held at a stadium built on the Las Vegas Strip. Even so, he still received $250,000 for winning.
The Enhanced Games have drawn heavyweight backing since their launch in 2023. Donald Trump Jr. and billionaire Peter Thiel are among those who have provided backing.
Still, the results suggested the event wasn’t entirely dominated by enhanced performance. There were 10 events, and clean athletes won three, according to The Guardian.
The sequence of outcomes made the stakes feel unusually concrete: one swimmer surpassed a time by fractions of a second. but the record stayed behind a rulebook-shaped wall. On the track. the performance wasn’t close enough to rewrite the most famous sprint number in modern history—leaving Bolt’s 9.58 intact while the event’s premise kept earning its biggest headlines elsewhere.
For a one-day experiment staged in a stadium built on the Las Vegas Strip, Enhanced Games has already made its signature trade: speed and spectacle bought with official disclaimers—and prizes attached to what mainstream sport typically bans.
Enhanced Games Las Vegas Kristian Gkolomeev Fred Kerley Usain Bolt record performance-enhancing drugs polyurethane super-suit Peter Thiel Donald Trump Jr.
So they’re basically paying people a million to cheat… but with paperwork? Weird.
I don’t get how it’s still an “official record” if they’re using banned stuff and the suit is banned too. That asterisk is basically screaming from the headline. Also Vegas loves controversy so I’m not surprised.
Wait Fred Kerley said he didn’t use banned drugs, but he still got paid the same? Isn’t that like… the whole point? And if there weren’t enough PEDs to beat Bolt, then why are we even arguing about the rules at all? Sounds like they’re trying to “test” it but it just turns into sponsorship drama.
This is one of those things where people pretend it’s “medical oversight” so it’s not cheating, but it’s still drugs. The whole polyurethane super-suit thing from 2010 too like ok so they’re cherry-picking what they want to allow. And if he can swim 20.81 then obviously everyone would want in, so how is this gonna end? Also I swear I saw the number wrong somewhere like 20.88 vs 20.81… internet gonna internet.