Some Non-Enhanced Athletes Beat Their Juicy Rivals in the ‘Steroid Olympics’

After years of promises that performance-enhancing drugs would redefine the frontiers of human athleticism, the first Enhanced Games ended with a mixed scoreboard, record-breaking swimming, dominant weightlifting performances, and clean athletes beating enhanced competitors in several marquee events.

Greek swimmer Christian Jekolomiev had the biggest moment in the event, swimming 20.89 seconds in the men’s race. 50 metres Freestyle, faster than the official world record and enough to claim the 1 million dollars Prize from the organizers.

“Last Saturday (Improved Games) was not only an amazing event, but also a huge business success,” said Christian Angermayer, investor and co-founder of Improved Games. books On X.

However, several findings undermined the central premise behind enhanced gaming, as many athletes using performance-enhancing drugs lost to competitors who said they were competing cleanly.

American runner Fred Curley, who competed as an unenhanced athlete, won the men’s race 100 metres The final in 9.97 seconds, 0.39 seconds shy of Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds, though. Claims That Bolt’s record “will be destroyed.”

Although the world record was not broken, Curley reportedly He mocked The enhanced athletes he ran against.

“They have to do better than that,” Curley said in a post-race interview. “They need to practice a little harder, deal with the bullshit a little more, and move forward a little harder.”

Meanwhile, Tristan Evelyn competed against five boosted racers, and won a race Women’s 100 metres Final as an unenhanced athlete, while swimmer Hunter Armstrong Defeated Two boosted contenders to win the men’s 50m backstroke.

The event marks the end of a years-long campaign by Aaron D’Souza, the Australian lawyer who previously helped lead Peter Thiel’s lawsuit against Gawker Media. D’Souza founded Enhanced Games in 2024 and is backed by Donald Trump Jr., Peter Thiel, and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan. D’Souza argued that modern anti-doping rules are outdated.

“The Olympics are about the past, they’re about ancient Greece,” D’Souza previously He said Decryption. “It’s about this natural athleticism, stuck in the past. We care about the future, about science, about progress. We care about acceleration.”

Organizers have framed improved gaming as part of a broader movement around it Biohackinglongevity research, human enhancement, and famous bio-hacker Brian Johnson appeared as host.

“I will be co-hosting the enhanced games this Sunday, for the first time as a broadcaster,” Johnson said books On X. “I spent the week with the athletes and doctors. There are so many moving stories of courage and triumph.”

The competition highlights the growing overlap between Silicon Valley’s improv culture and elite sports. Organizers portray the Games as a science-based alternative to Olympic rules, while critics say they normalize dangerous drug use. scene And profit.

“Everything about enhanced games seems so unserious and stupid,” said author Brad Stulberg books On X.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and the World Aquatics Organization rejected the legality of the competition and said that performances at the Games would not be counted as official records. Despite this, organizers say the improved games are the future of athletics.

“Now that we have broken the deadlock and proven that the Games can be held at the highest level, I expect more partnerships to be signed in the coming months,” Angermayer wrote. “We’re just getting started!”