Created by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, the Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subjected to drug tests; Team GB Olympic silver medalist Ben Proud announces his retirement from ‘traditional swimming’ in order to join

Great Britain’s Ben Proud has announced he has retired from ‘traditional swimming’ to compete in the Enhanced Games

Team GB Olympic silver medalist Ben Proud has announced he has retired from ‘traditional swimming’ in order to compete at the controversial Enhanced Games next May. 

Created by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, the Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subjected to drug tests.

Proud, 30, is a former world champion and won his maiden Olympic medal at the third attempt at the Paris Games in 2024, clinching silver in the 50-metre freestyle.

The inaugural Enhanced Games is scheduled to take place in May 2026. in Las Vegas. Cocaine and heroin use will not be permitted.

Posting on Instagram, Proud said: “It’s time for a shift. I will be retiring from traditional swimming to compete in the Enhanced Games.

“Stepping into a framework that challenges everything we know about performance, and a chance to chase the outer edge of human potential with the tools and possibilities of our time.

“This is where my next chapter begins.”

A statement on the Enhanced Games website saw Proud state: “My ambition has always been to be the fastest man on the planet. I’ve spent years striving for that within traditional sport, but my motivations have shifted.

“Now, I want to focus on performance at its highest level and challenge myself in new ways. The Enhanced Games gives me that chance – to test the limits of human potential with the tools and possibilities of our time.”

Proud won gold in the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in the 50-metre freestyle, having previously become world champion in 2017 in the same event, and is a multiple Commonwealth Games champion.

Of the Enhanced Games concept, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said last year its mission was “to protect sport from doping cheats,” adding: “There is no place in sport for performance-enhancing drugs, nor the Enhanced Games.”

A venture capital fund – which includes US President Donald Trump’s son Jr and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel – has backed the concept.

World Athletics president Lord Coe previously commented that taking part would be “moronic” and any competitor would face a “lengthy ban.”

Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev – a former World Championship silver medalist and European champion – Ukrainian swimmer Andriy Govorov – who holds the world record for the 50m butterfly – and Bulgaria’s Josif Miladinov – a European silver medallist in the 100m butterfly – have also announced they will be a part of the Enhanced Games

Australian former world champion James Magnussen came out of retirement to join the Enhanced Games in 2024.