Vegas event encounters downer
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has thrown a spanner in the works of Las Vegas’s plans to host the world’s first Olympics-style doping permitted games in May.
dangerous” and “irresponsible”
The Canada-headquartered international regulatory body has urged its southern counterpart US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to do more to stop the games WADA labeled “dangerous” and “irresponsible.”
WADA outranks USADA and its President Witold Banka told the body it “had a responsibility to push against” the performance-enhanced games, according to the Guardian, and “should do more to make sure that this event will not happen.”
The rebuke comes in a month in which record-breaking Irish Olympian Shane Ryan cited financial security after his career as his motivation for joining the Enhanced Games. US sprinter Fred Kerley, four-time Greece Olympian Kristian Gkolomeev, and Team GB Olympic swimmer Ben Proud have also joined the Vegas event.
Risky and ridiculous?
Banka, a Polish former 400m sprinter, said WADA was lost for words and believed the games to be a “ridiculous idea.” He also questioned the ethics and morals of athletes, asking: “how is it possible that people come to agree to compete, taking all these prohibited substances?”
One of those would-be competitors is Ryan, a star-quality coup Enhanced Games announced on X:
The anti-doping chief said the Enhanced Games was “completely against everything that we are doing. It’s very dangerous. I hope it will not happen.”
Banka urged USADA and other world anti-doping bodies to make a unified stand against the games happening, including lobbying for legal action.
Banka again prodded USADA, stating while the body has made general comments “maybe it’s time to try and convince the people who have financed this that it’s dangerous.”
Money and drugs
The WADA head had previously alluded to “quite important and rich people who are sponsors of this irresponsible event.” One of those backers, Donald Trump Junior, is a vocal proponent of the games he calls “real competition, real freedom.”
If potentially doped-up Irish champ Ryan breaks the world records for the 50m freestyle and 100m sprint events, he’ll tuck a cool $2m bonus into his speedos.
