Ben Proud Rejects WADA Doping Warning as $1.25 Million Bonus Looms at Enhanced Games
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 24
Ben Proud Rejects WADA Doping Warning as $1.25 Million Bonus Looms at Enhanced Games
5 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 24
Ben Proud said the Enhanced Games will not tempt young people to dope, despite WADA's warning and his chance to earn another $1.25 million by breaking the 50m freestyle world record on Sunday.
The 31-year-old former Team GB swimmer said he competed clean for 10 years and is now racing in a medically supervised setting, while accepting banned drugs and polyurethane suits could each improve performance by 1% to 2%.
Kristian Gkolomeev, Proud's Greek rival, could also go under the official world record, Proud said, as organisers in Las Vegas insist the pool, track and timing systems meet world and Olympic standards.
Reece Prescod, a retired British 100m sprinter who joined the event, also defended his move and said other athletes have quietly asked about contracts, though he doubts more Team GB athletes will follow.
WADA still calls the Enhanced Games a dangerous and irresponsible concept, while organisers argue drug use is already widespread and should be brought into the open under clinical supervision.
Is medically supervised doping the future of sport, or history's most dangerous public experiment?
When science can shatter every record, what is the real meaning of a world champion?