Doping has been a perennial issue in the ever-changing sports world, as players are always looking for ways to outperform one another. But at the beginning of 2023, an extreme idea was put out by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, the head of the private organization organizing the Enhanced Games. He proposed organizing an athletic multi-sport event in which participants would be free to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Many criticized the idea, including Travis Tygart, the CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, who referred to it as a “dangerous clown show, not real sport.” Now the debate has escalated as the president of World Athletics voiced his strong opinion condemning the proposal.

World Athletics continues to stand against Enhanced Games

Sebastian Coe showed his clear disapproval at a press conference before World Indoor Champs in Glasgow. Coe said, “If anyone is moronic enough to feel that they want to take part in that and they are from the traditional, philosophical end of our sport, they’ll get banned and they’ll get banned a long time,” CitiusMag updated on X. The conflict between the bold idea powered by performance-enhancing drugs and the traditional values of sportsmanship is gaining traction prompting Coe’s forceful statements.

The post continued: “World Athletics president @sebcoe isn’t bothered or fazed by the prospects of the “The Enhanced Games.” Coe had a lot to say, and the same reflected in his statement, “It’s bollocks. I can’t really get excited about it. I really don’t get sleepless nights over it, it’s not going to be a page turner is it?” Planning to put a stop to it eventually, he adds that there are a lot of things happening in other sectors.

What’s the argument in favor of Enhanced Games?

The Enhanced Games started out a year ago and has attracted prominent investors, such as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan, and psychedelic and life sciences expert Christian Angermayer’s Apieron Investment Group. Aron D’Souza, President of Enhanced Games, says the platform wants to provide players the chance to “push the limits of humanity.” The main goal is to allow athletes to compete while under the influence of performance-enhancing substances.

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Advocates of the Enhanced Games claim that athletes are restricted by current anti-doping laws, characterizing the Olympics as “hypocritical, corrupt, and dysfunctional.” Given the high-stakes confrontation between these opposing ideas in the Enhanced Games argument, the sports world is on edge. But which side are you on?

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