American sprinter Fred Kerley, 2022 100m world champion, joins the Enhanced Games, "the Games for dopers"

American sprinter Fred Kerley, the 2022 100m world champion who is currently serving a provisional suspension for failing to attend several doping controls, has decided to participate in the upcoming Enhanced Games, organizers announced on Wednesday, September 17. Performance-enhancing drugs will be permitted at the event.

The first edition of the Enhanced Games, supported by a fund with which Donald Trump Jr. is associated, is scheduled to take place at the end of May 2026 in Las Vegas (United States). Participants will be allowed to consume "performance-enhancing substances" following a "safe, legal, and science-guided" protocol, according to the organizers. Fred Kerley is the first major athletics figure to join the Enhanced Games.

"The world record has always been the ultimate goal of my career," the 30-year-old American said in a statement. A double Olympic medalist in the 100m (silver in 2021 in Tokyo and bronze in 2024 in Paris), he says he is ready to "push back [his] limits to become the fastest human in history." Fred Kerley could win the $1 million bonus (around 845,000 euros) promised to the athlete who beats the world best mark in the 100m, 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt in 2009. Before him, several swimmers had already joined the organization, including the Australian James Magnussen, the Greek Kristian Gkolomeev and the British Ben Proud.

The initiator of this controversial project is Aron D'Souza. In May, the 40-year-old Australian tech entrepreneur announced the official launch of the first edition of the Enhanced Games, which aims to rival the Olympic Games. The competition is expected to feature swimming, track and field, and a reimagined version of weightlifting.

Athletes will be able to consume "simple drugs, with effects known and documented for decades." Enough to turn them into "superhumans enhanced by science," according to Aron D'Souza. The project has drawn strong criticism from sports and scientific circles, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, which deemed it "dangerous and irresponsible" in May 2024.

In February of the same year, Sebastian Coe, the president of the International Athletics Federation, had warned "athletes stupid enough to participate" that they would be "banned for a long time" from their sport. In Tokyo on Wednesday, the Briton refused "to say more." "We are in the middle of the World Championships. (...) We will see that when it is over," he commented soberly.

Fred Kerley was unable to participate in the World Championships due to his provisional suspension, announced on August 12 by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). The American sprinter was sanctioned for whereabouts failures (he allegedly failed to appear for doping control on several occasions). Through his lawyer, the thirty-year-old immediately contested this decision, which bars him from all athletics competitions "until a final decision is made" by the AIU. A month later, he finally chose to join "the Doped Games."