Aussie Sports Commission chief Kieren Perkins raises concerns about drug-fuelled Enhanced Games

With the Olympics around the corner, Australia Sports Commission chief executive Kieren Perkins has raised serious questions on allowing athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs and compete in an organised event. On Tuesday (Mar 19), Perkins commented on the useofdrugs which could lead to the death of athletes during the Enhanced Games. The Enhanced Games is a planned international sports event where the athletes will not be subject to drug testing.

Perkins on Enhanced Games

“The idea of an Enhanced Games is laughable,” he said. “Someone will die if we allow that sort of environment to continue to prosper and flourish.”

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“The reason why drugs in sport were banned is because a cyclist fell off his bike and died,” he said, referring to the death of Danish cyclist Knud Jensen at the 1960 Olympic Games which prompted the modern drug-testing movement.

“We don’t want people to be taking performance-enhancing drugs because of the significant impact it has on them and their future and their future families.”

What are Enhanced Games and how will they work?

Currently, still, under consideration, the Enhanced Games are similar to the Olympics with no control of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Athletes in the competition will be free to use drugs to compete in the competition and will be rewarded with big prize money of around $1 million if they break existing records. Aron D'Souza, an Australian businessman proposed the idea and has assured big prizes for successful athletes during the Games.

As things stand, originally scheduled to be held in December 2024, the event is now postponed to 2025. Although the use of performance-enhancing drugs is not mandatory, athletes won’t be tested for the same even if they use them.

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Australian former Olympic medallist and world champion swimmer James Magnussen said in February he wanted to compete.

“I’ll juice to the gills and I’ll break it within six months,” he said last month, before later saying he regretted the use of those exact words.

“It’s all going to be very scientific, but because I said that comment people just went bam and ran with it,” he said. “It’s the one quote that I regret.”

There are serious question marks on the competition and its credibility as fans and commentators have raised concerns like Perkins. With the Olympics due to start in July, it will be interesting how the Enhanced Games get the spotlight after the Paris Games.