After countless doping and performance-enhancing drug scandals in the Olympics, Peter Thiel and a group of venture capitalists are betting that people want to see the same events featuring athletes that are permitted to use PED's. Enter the Enhanced Games, set to kick off in 2025, according to sports business writer Joe Pompliano:
“Peter Thiel and a group of venture capitalists are funding the Enhanced Games — an Olympic-style competition that allows performance-enhancing drugs. Events include: • Track and field • Swimming • Gymnastics • Weight lifting • Combat Sports The 1st event will be in 2025.”
The Enhanced games state that they will, as opposed to the Olympics, emphasize safety instead of fairness:
“At the Olympics, athletes are drug tested after each competition. Clearly, the goal of the Olympics drug testing program is to ensure fairness through the threat of punishment for those who use enhancements. There is little concern for safety, as the Olympics has no mandated health-testing program. Olympians, 44% of whom have used enhancements in the past year, are able to compete regardless of any undiscovered health risks.
This is why athletes competing in the Enhanced Games will receive a free medical screening prior to competition, which will ensure that they are healthy and able to compete. The screening will involve an electrocardiogram, blood tests and genomic sequencing, in order to build up a full picture of the athlete’s health, and allow athletes to make an informed decision about whether they are safe to compete.”
Earlier this week, Russian skater Kamila Valieva was banned from competition for four years after being found guilty of violating anti-doping rules at the 2022 Olympic games.
If the Enhanced Games expand to include figure skating, maybe she can participate.
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