Enhanced Games could tempt more young people into doping, Wada warns

The Enhanced Games, which first takes place on Sunday in Las Vegas, ‘goes against everything Wada stands for’

The World Anti-Doping Agency says it is concerned that Enhanced Games’ athletes will tempt more young people into using performance-enhancing drugs.

The stark warning comes before the controversial $50m event in Las Vegas on Sunday, which allows competitors to take banned drugs – and offers huge prizes if they win races and break world records.

Organisers of the Enhanced Games, which includes track and field, swimming and weightlifting events in its inaugural competition, have called it “the future of sports and human performance”. High-profile competitors who have won world titles or Olympic medals will include US sprinter Fred Kerley, British swimmer Ben Proud and Australian swimmer James Magnussen.

However, the global anti-doping body told the Guardian that the Enhanced Games “goes against everything Wada stands for” and said the event was using elite athletes to sell banned drugs and anti-ageing products to people who might not be aware of the risks involved.

“Wada has consistently made its view clear that the Enhanced Games is a dangerous and irresponsible concept,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. “Wada is concerned that events involving elite athletes that promote the use of PEDs could result in more people, including young people, being tempted to use PEDs. This obviously goes against everything Wada stands for.”

The Enhanced Games allows athletes to use substances that are banned in elite sport, including testosterone, EPO and human growth hormone, arguing that they are safe if taken under medical supervision as they have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. However Wada told the Guardian that was not the case.

“Just because a drug is FDA-approved, which includes most of the substances on Wada’s prohibited list, it does not mean it can be taken risk-free,” a Wada spokesperson said. “These powerful drugs can cause serious harm – sometimes immediately, sometimes months or years later.

“Steroids, for example, can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and liver damage. Human growth hormone can trigger diabetes, heart problems and abnormal growth in organs and bones. And taking exogenous testosterone can lead to an increased risk of hypertension, heart attack and blood clots, as well as infertility and testicular shrinkage, increased aggression, anxiety and depression.”

Wada also warned against the practice of “stacking” various drugs together in an effort to further improve performance, which some Enhanced Games athletes, including Canadian strongman Mitchell Hooper, have been open about doing. “The reality is that sports medicine still doesn’t fully understand the long-term consequences of stacking multiple substances together at the doses elite athletes might use to chase records,” Wada’s spokesperson said.