Beijing: The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has strongly condemned the upcoming Enhanced Games, urging the international sports community to collectively oppose this controversial competition that openly promotes the use of banned performance-enhancing substances.
Set to launch in May 2026 in Las Vegas, the Enhanced Games will feature swimming, athletics, and weightlifting events specifically for athletes who use substances prohibited in official sports competitions. This initiative has alarmed anti-doping organizations worldwide, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which maintains a strict ban on performance-enhancing drugs.
Participants in the Enhanced Games stand to win substantial prize money, with up to $500,000 awarded per event, plus additional bonuses for breaking world records. Such high stakes have sparked intense debate over the ethical and health implications of the event.
In a statement released to state media outlet Xinhua on Friday, CHINADA denounced the competition as “a distorted competition that turns pure sports competition into a drug contest, which serious(ly) contradicts the purpose of the World Anti-Doping Code.”
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“It severely threatens the physical and mental health of athletes as well as the spirit of sport. In addition, its publicity tactics reveal its nature as a capital-driven initiative.”
The agency emphasized its firm stance against any efforts to depict doping as scientific progress. “CHINADA hereby expresses our firm opposition to any attempt to portray doping as so-called scientific advancements, and calls on the global sports community to stand united in rejecting the Enhanced Games.”
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The philosophy underpinning the Enhanced Games challenges the widely accepted belief that banning performance-enhancing drugs protects athletes. Organizers argue that such bans suppress athletic potential and have invited competitors to take part in their event openly.
Despite these claims, CHINADA criticized the organizers for enticing athletes with lucrative rewards that encourage risking their health, while catering to spectators’ appetite for a “gladiator show.”
