Olympic gold medalist Hunter Armstrong left the inaugural Enhanced Games with $375,000 after two podium swims—winning the men’s 50 backstroke and placing second in the 100 freestyle. In a SwimSwam Podcast takeover, Armstrong describes racing clean in a polyure
The first thing Hunter Armstrong says is simple: he left the inaugural Enhanced Games with $375,000 in prize money.
Then he starts filling in the details that made that figure possible. The Olympic gold medalist competed as a non-enhanced, clean athlete. In the men’s 50 backstroke. he won in 24.21 in a polyurethane “super suit. ” earning $250. 000 for the victory—though it landed about half a second off his American record of 23.71. Armstrong came back for the men’s 100 freestyle, finishing second in 48.0 behind Kristian Gkolomeev, who touched in 46.6. Armstrong’s lifetime best in the event is 47.59. That second-place swim added another $125,000, bringing his Enhanced Games payday to $375,000.
In a full debrief for the SwimSwam Podcast, Armstrong focused on what came after the results: the testing, the environment, and whether he plans to return.
He describes the reach of the event far beyond the podium. Armstrong reports that eight USA Swimming National Teamers—World Champions and Olympic gold medalists among them—asked how to enter the next Enhanced Games after learning about the process.
Armstrong also explains how close his own race choices came to the line. He says he believed the 50 back world record was within reach. but he held back because he didn’t have enough experience racing in a super suit. His specific fear was a disqualification for kicking past the 15-meter mark underwater.
When the question shifts to which swim mattered most, Armstrong points to the 48.0 in the 100 freestyle as possibly the better performance. Even with a second-place finish, he frames that race as the one where he felt steadier.
Testing is where the conversation turns sharp. Armstrong says that since announcing in March 2026 that he would compete at the Enhanced Games. he has been drug tested 11 times. He adds that his previous most-tested year was six tests—and that was the year he broke a world record. He says he was also tested at the Enhanced Games event itself.
Armstrong doesn’t stop at numbers. He tells listeners what it felt like behind the scenes in Las Vegas. describing what he called a vastly different environment from the traditional World Aquatics experience. He describes “white-glove” treatment athletes received—covering food and travel, event management, and overall support.
Then comes the question many fans have been debating since the debut: did Armstrong enjoy beating enhanced athletes while racing clean?
His answer is nuanced. He doesn’t reduce it to one emotion, and he doesn’t frame it as a simple victory lap.
He’s also weighing whether he plans to continue with the Enhanced Games, and why. With the amount of testing he says he has undergone since announcing his participation. the podcast conversation turns to the next major milestones: whether World Aquatics will allow him to race at the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Armstrong also discusses the broader financial reality around athletes like him. He addresses how much financial support he says he has received beyond his $375,000 in prize money, including salary, expenses, and training support.
The money discussion runs directly into politics in swimming. Armstrong comments on IOC president Kirsty Coventry’s widely discussed statement that she does not believe Olympic athletes should be paid. He notes that elite athletes continue training and competing without meaningful financial security—an issue that has drawn criticism well beyond the pool.
He also reacts to the Enhanced Games’ stated plans to pay athletes more in the future. Enhanced Games CEO Maximilian Martin recently announced a $10 million prize for any athlete who breaks Usain Bolt’s 100m world record at the 2027 Enhanced Games.
Armstrong’s position on enhanced racing has also changed over time—and the podcast brings that history back into focus. In Armstrong’s previous SwimSwam Podcast appearance, he said he would never race enhanced, even after retiring from Olympic sport. The host asks the question again after Armstrong has trained and experienced the event. This time. his answer is more nuanced. and he frames his thinking in a way that makes the next decision feel less like a slogan and more like a calculation.
The episode also touches the controversy around the debut itself. Armstrong responds to SwimSwam’s coverage of the Enhanced Games. including Editor-in-Chief Braden Keith’s assessment that the debut event was “mostly an infomercial parading as a sporting spectacle. ” and that it did not solve the troubled economics of Olympic sports or offer much for the traditional sports world to copy.
The podcast runs just over an hour, and Armstrong tells listeners he will come back with more of the insider point of view.
For now. his takeaway is wrapped around a single number—$375. 000—set against a bigger set of questions: how clean athletes fit into a new format. how testing is handled. what the athlete experience really looks like. and whether the next chapter in 2027 and 2028 will come with the same permission to compete.
Hunter Armstrong Enhanced Games SwimSwam Podcast 50 backstroke 100 freestyle Kristian Gkolomeev super suit polyurethane drug testing Kirsty Coventry Maximilian Martin 2027 World Championships Budapest 2028 Olympic Games Los Angeles Usain Bolt 100m world record