It's like the Olympics - except steroids are allowed

Under the blazing Vegas sun, elephantine billboards advertise "Live Enhanced" arsenic the baritone dependable of a sports announcer pretends to present British swimmer Ben Proud and different athletes.

The announcer is practicing astatine a caller unfastened aerial arena hosting 1 of the astir arguable events successful caller sporting history: the Enhanced Games.

Think Olympics connected steroids. Literally.

The inaugural contention connected Sunday volition diagnostic dozens of elite athletes utilizing performance-enhancing drugs to effort and interruption satellite records successful track, weightlifting and swimming.

Some $25m (£18.6m) successful prize wealth is up for grabs - with currency prizes for winners. World records successful definite events, being eyed up by the likes of US sprinter Fred Kerley, wage a $1m (£740,000) bonus.

The drugs they usage indispensable beryllium legal, and approved by the Federal Drug Administration. But substances similar testosterone and quality maturation hormone - banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency - are not lone celebrated here, they're encouraged and for sale.

The task was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D'Souza and Maximilian Martin successful 2023 and has attracted backing from salient investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.

Health experts pass that anabolic steroids and maturation hormones tin origin strokes and cardiovascular damage, among different risks.

Event organisers assertion Enhanced volition propulsion the limits of quality show portion critics, particularly successful the Olympic movement, disregard it arsenic an affront to the tone and founding principles of competitory sport.

'We're being up beforehand and honest'

"You don't person to beryllium pressured oregon usage drugs successful bid to beryllium the best," says Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti Doping Agency, USADA.

He tells the BBC that portion determination are wide failures with the Olympics' anti-doping protocols, the reply is reforming the system, not to dope.

Athletes, helium says, request to beryllium assured the Olympics are cleanable and cheats volition not beryllium tolerated.

"We don't privation kids to person to say, 'in bid to triumph an Olympic medal, erstwhile I'm 18 oregon 20 years old, I person to inject myself each time successful the rear extremity with a perchance unsafe drug.'"

But Enhanced, the institution down the games, claims it is bringing retired into the unfastened what it says is an undercurrent of galore athletes cheat and instrumentality performance-enhancing drugs successful the shadows.

Packed into a ballroom astatine Resorts World casino, Enhanced athletes answered media questions for 2 hours, but lone 1 - strongman Hafthor Bjornsson who hopes to interruption his ain deadlift grounds of 510 kg (1,124.4 pounds) - would accidental which drugs helium was taking. Other athletes were choky lipped.

Bjornsson, who played the Mountain successful Game of Thrones, says he's unfastened astir his steroid usage due to the fact that it's accepted successful the nonrecreational strongman world.

American sprinter Shania Collins says the information that those taking portion successful the games admit to doping, already gives them much integrity than cheaters.

"We're being up beforehand and honorable and transparent from the start," she tells the BBC. "So however tin you situation our integrity erstwhile we're forthright with the information?"

UK Athletics' main enforcement Jack Buckner said helium was "appalled" erstwhile it was revealed erstwhile Great Britain sprinter Reece Prescod had signed up successful January. UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) has called the lawsuit a "reckless venture".

Meanwhile, GB Aquatics has said British swimmer Ben Proud volition not beryllium selected again for Britain's Olympic squad if helium competes astatine the Enhanced Games.

Proud, who won the metallic medal successful the 50m freestyle astatine the Paris Olympics successful 2024, is hoping to interruption the satellite grounds utilizing performance-enhancing drugs and triumph a cardinal dollars connected Sunday.

If helium wins the contention but doesn't interruption the satellite record, helium volition inactive marque $250,000 (£185,000).

"There's nary wealth successful sport," Proud told the BBC earlier the games. "I was 30 and had conscionable travel disconnected a metallic medal, what aboriginal way bash I follow?"

Proud, who has been wide condemned for joining the Enhanced Games, has said it would instrumentality 13 years of winning World Championship titles to gain this benignant of prize money.

Of the 42 athletes competing astatine the Enhanced Games connected Sunday, astir volition beryllium utilizing testosterone and immoderate volition besides beryllium utilizing quality maturation hormone and stimulants similar Adderall.

But not everyone volition beryllium doping - immoderate are competing clean.

American swimmer Hunter Armstrong has said helium "definitely" doesn't privation to dope for the games, adding: "I personally person taken pridefulness successful getting arsenic acold arsenic I tin connected earthy God-given talent."

He plans to vie cleanable for a changeable astatine the wealth and past instrumentality to vie astatine the Los Angeles Olympics successful 2028. Whether helium tin is unclear, fixed the outcry from galore sports bodies liable for selection.

However, the US Anti-Doping Agency's Tygart told the BBC arsenic agelong arsenic an jock passes doping tests to suffice for the Olympics, there's thing to halt them from taking part.

Wider worries for society?

Earlier this month, the Enhanced Group - the institution down the contention - began trading connected the New York Stock Exchange.

And the contention is seemingly being treated arsenic an accidental for Enhanced to merchantability performance-enhancing medicine and supplements astatine the lawsuit and online.

This sparks broader concerns for some, astatine a clip erstwhile societal media is awash with offers to bargain unregulated peptides and unit connected radical to look a definite way.

Joe Vennare, laminitis of Fitt Insider, which analyses the wellness and wellness industry, feels normalising performance-enhancing drugs volition bring chartless wellness and taste consequences.

He says radical person the close to usage ineligible aesculapian interventions, but is acrophobic immoderate radical are doing truthful astatine the disbursal of being acceptable and having a steadfast diet.

"Kids are utilizing societal media filters, they're getting Botox injections," helium tells the BBC. "They're having assemblage dysmorphia - particularly young men, successful this lawsuit astatine grounds numbers."

Vennare says the Enhanced Games reflects those problems, but hasn't created them.

"That's a occupation that parents and civilization and nine much broadly person to address."

Enhanced jock James Magnussen agrees. The Australian swimmer says parents request to power what their kids ticker and instrumentality idiosyncratic work - but helium insists Enhanced is not "targeted astatine children".

"It's an amusement institution and merchandise targeted astatine radical looking astatine the longevity and quality show space."

None of these criticisms of the Enhanced Games are apt to spell distant immoderate clip soon.

Neither the athletes taking part, nor the invite-only assemblage successful Vegas, look to beryllium deterred.