The controversial inaugural Enhanced Games, a competition that unapologetically permits the use of performance-enhancing drugs for all participating athletes, got off to a surprising start in its opening swimming event on Monday in Las Vegas, where one of the sport’s most recognizable former champions failed to deliver on the high expectations he helped build. Australian swimmer James Magnussen, nicknamed “The Missile” and the first athlete to sign on to the privately backed competition, crossed the finish line in last place in the men’s 100m freestyle, finishing more than two seconds slower than his decade-old personal best.
The 35-year-old, who made headlines ahead of the event with a bold claim that he would “juice to the gills” and break a world record within six months of joining the Games, clocked a final time of 49.44 seconds. That result put him well behind the three other competitors in the field, with Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev taking first place with a time of 46.6 seconds. Gkolomeev’s finish came just 0.2 seconds off the current world record of 46.4 seconds set by Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this year. Completing the field were American swimmer Hunter Armstrong and Irish swimmer Shane Ryan, both of whom finished comfortably ahead of Magnussen.
Magnussen’s slow final time was 2.34 seconds off his personal best of 47.10 seconds, which he set at the Australian Olympic selection trials back in 2012, when he was at the peak of his competitive career. Competing in an eye-catching gold swimsuit that marked his status as the face of the new event, Magnussen never mounted a serious challenge to the rest of the field throughout the race.
Despite his underwhelming last-place finish, the former world champion still walked away with a $70,000 payout for just competing in the event, a sum that is nearly double what Australian Olympic gold medalists receive for winning a top prize at the traditional Games. The Enhanced Games offers outsized financial incentives to draw competitors: total prize money across all events sits at millions of dollars, with a $1.4 million reward on offer specifically for any athlete who breaks the 50m freestyle world record. Total prize money for all winners across the inaugural event is set at roughly $350,000, a payout structure that far outpaces traditional elite swimming competition for many lower-ranked finishers.
Backed by deep-pocketed supporters including private equity firms, tech billionaires, and entrepreneurial investment funds, the Enhanced Games has drawn widespread global scrutiny for its rule that allows unlimited use of performance-enhancing substances, a direct rejection of decades of anti-doping policies that govern the Olympic Games and all other mainstream international sports. For Magnussen, the competition is not over yet: he is still scheduled to compete in the 50m freestyle later in the event, where he retains a chance to claim the massive $1.4 million world record breaking prize.