Here are the Enhanced Games, the Olympics where doping is allowed. And where money is flowing

But Enhanced, the company organising the Games, claims it is bringing to light what it calls a widespread phenomenon: that of athletes cheating and taking doping substances in the shadows.

Gathered in a ballroom of the Las Vegas Resorts World casino, the Enhanced athletes answered questions from the media during a press conference for two hours, but only one - strongman Hafthor Bjornsson, who hopes to break his personal record in the deadlift (a speciality not included in the triathlon Olympics) of 510 kg - revealed what doping substances he was taking. The other athletes remained reticent.

Again, American sprinter Shania Collins said that the fact that participants in the games admit to doping already gives them more integrity than those who cheat. 'We have been frank, honest and transparent from the beginning,' she told the BBC. "So how can you question our integrity when we are so clear about information?"

Some 'official' sports governing bodies have publicly reprimanded athletes for choosing to participate in the Games. The CEO of UK Athletics, Jack Buckner, said he was 'horrified' when it emerged that former British sprinter Reece Prescod had signed up in January. The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) called the event 'a reckless endeavour'.

There was no shortage of radiation. For example, GB Aquatics declared that British swimmer Ben Proud will no longer be selected for the British Olympic team if he participates in the Enhanced Games, regardless of doping test results.

Proud, who won the silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, competed hoping to break the world record using doping substances and win a million dollars. Even just by winning, without breaking the world record, he can still earn $250,000. "There is not enough money in mainstream sport," said Proud before the Games. "At the age of 30 I had just won a silver medal, what path should I take for the future?" Proud said it would take 13 years of World Championship victories to earn a similar amount of money. Enhanced has already paid one million dollars to a doped swimmer for breaking a record during one of the trials organised in preparation for Sunday's competition.

Of the 42 athletes who competed at the Enhanced Games on Sunday, most use testosterone and some even human growth hormone and stimulants such as Adderall. But not all of them are dopers: some competed cleanly, attracted only by the hefty prize money.

American swimmer Hunter Armstrong said he did not want to dop for the competition at all, adding: 'Personally, I am proud that I have come as far as I can thanks to my God-given natural talent. He therefore competed cleanly for a chance to win the prize money and then return to compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. However, it is unclear whether he will succeed, given the protests of many sports bodies responsible for selection.

However, Tygart of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) told the BBC that as long as an athlete passes the doping tests to qualify for the Olympics, there is nothing to stop them from participating from a doping perspective, but pointed out that World Aquatics has already threatened to disqualify any swimmer competing agku Enhanced Games.

Quoted in New York

Earlier this month, the Enhanced Group, the company organising the competition, went public on the New York Stock Exchange. And the competition seems to be seen as an opportunity for Enhanced to sell performance-enhancing drugs and supplements online.

This has raised many concerns at a time when social media is flooded with offers to buy unregulated peptides and pressure on people to improve their sports performance and physical appearance.

Joe Vennare, founder of Fitt Insider, which analyses the health and wellness sector, believes that the normalisation of doping substances will lead to health and cultural consequences that are as yet unknown. According to Vannare, people have the right to use legal medical interventions, but he is concerned that some people do so at the expense of real fitness and a healthy diet.

"Boys use social media filters and give themselves botox injections," he told the BBC. "They suffer from dysmorphophobia (disabling obsession with one or more alleged physical defects, ndr), especially young men." Vennare states that the Enhanced Games reflect these problems, but did not create them. "It is a problem that parents, culture and society in general needs to address."