Scientists warn Enhanced Games could 'kill athletes' sex drive' as PED impact laid bare
Scientists have warned that the Enhanced Games could 'kill athletes' sex drive' as the impact of taking performance enhancing drugs becomes increasingly clear.
The controversial Enhanced Games is designed to allow athletes to take PEDs without testing, enabling them to break more world records.
Organisers recently announced that the inaugural four-day edition of the competition is scheduled to take place in May 2026 in Las Vegas.
Professors Ian Broadley and Martin Chandler spoke to the Guardian about the risks involved.
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Chandler said: “BPC-157 has had very limited human trials so we don’t have robust human data for that, while ipamorelin which was discontinued when it was as a pharmaceutical drug. Neither is FDA approved.
“We are also now starting to see some serious long-term effects from steroid use in the research.
“Things like reproductive function or libido just being killed off with no real clear understanding of why. A person’s hormone levels appear fine, but their function isn’t.”
They also warned of a range of harmful side effects on the heart from taking testosterone.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has also issued warnings, calling the Enhanced Games a 'dangerous and irresponsible concept'.
What has happened so far?
Organisers of the Enhanced Games claim they have already broken a world record in the pool, with the Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev.
Gkolomeev, who finished fifth in the 50m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, recently broke the world record by 0.02 seconds, to finish in 20.89 seconds.
Although the Enhanced Games insist the time is legitimate, it will not be recognised by World Athletics.
But the Greek was awarded a $1million cheque - a prize which will be given to any Enhanced Games athlete who breaks a world record.
Australian swimmer James Magnussen. Credit:Quinn Rooney / Staff via Getty Images
Who else will compete?
Former Olympic champion James Magnussen is another athlete who has started taking PEDs.
The Australian retired in 2019 as a world record holder for the 100m freestyle, although his time was wearing a textile suit, which were later banned.
Last year he announced he would come out of retirement to compete at the Games. A video shared on social media shows the 34-year-old.
It is subtitled: "This is how James built his lats so wide that he blew up his super suit three times."
The clip shows a training montage of Magnussen in the gym and pool. He spoke to the Hello Sport podcast about his experience of PEDs.
"I gained 10 pounds, or five kilos in the first week, of lean muscle,' Magnussen added.
"There was points during that process where my athleticism was through the roof.
"For the first seven weeks I was in the United States, I trained twice a day, every day. So 49 days straight, 98 sessions straight with no rest.
"I started getting too big, my nervous system is fried, I'm having trouble with that top end speed stuff, from that explosivity, and my metrics start trending down. So it was taking about four people 30 minutes to get me into a suit."
James Taylor