Danger and doping: What are the ‘Enhanced Games’?

Law grad Liya Hussain explores the potential dangers of the controversial sporting competition

A new sporting event named the Enhanced Games has caused quite the controversy because of the question of whether it is really a sporting event or a dystopian superhuman show. The Enhanced Games disregard the traditional rules for sporting events, such as the prohibition of performance-enhancing drugs, and instead encourages performance enhancing drugs, hence the name. This superhuman sporting spectacle was thought up by the Australian tech entrepreneur Aron D’Souza. The Enhanced Games are set to begin in May 2026 in Las Vegas. The chosen location is not merely random; D’Souza faces difficulty hosting his idea in his home country.

Australia’s anti-doping chief called the event ‘grossly irresponsible’ and issued a grave warning that Australian athletes risk exclusion if they participate in the Enhanced Games. Despite these criticisms, D’Souza argues “no government, or sport federation should be making choices for athletes” remaining defiant that “adults are adults” and “your body, your choice”. This autonomous attitude, however, did not transcend strict Australian anti-doping law; thus, D’Souza had to take his idea to a country which is already pushing the limits of humanity, one which is already in moral chaos, this could only be the USA. It is not surprising, considering this is a country which has recently overturned landmark cases to strip women of abortion rights and test the limits of pushing female anatomy to its breaking points, and has now also welcomed an event which will encourage athletes to push their bodies to unnatural limits, all for what purpose — spectacle?

Enhanced safeguarding risk

D’Souza has said his idea came from great curiosity about any limit to human endeavours. “It’s not just a question of can we break the nine-second 100 metre, I am sure we will,” he said. “I want to see a 40, 50, 60-year-old break world records because performance medicine is the road to anti-ageing, it’s the route to the fountain of youth.” While age has been an incurable disease which humanity has chosen to accept as a natural part of life, many may welcome the research and development of anti-ageing medicine. However, anti-ageing means extending the quality of life, not simply the life span. Being older for longer must be worthwhile; we must ensure the age of being elderly is comfortable, supported and wanted. Anti-ageing advancements should aim to improve the quality of life whilst simultaneously extending life span in the interest of the elderly, not the entertainment of the younger.

Therefore, performance enhancement drugs are not the only ethical dilemma raised by the Enhanced Games, but also the safeguarding of the participants is an ethical concern. In addition, it must be considered what type of contestants are being recruited.

D’Souza has announced, “If you participate, you’re going to get stock in the league and be a co-owner and that is really important to us because that is going to be an opportunity for athletes to generate wealth.” Whilst this may be genuine kindness and an attempt to advocate for better pay in sports, there still needs to be a level of protection to ensure it is not those who are desperate or in poor financial positions who are entering this competition. With almost any competition, there is a reward to entice competitors.

However, in a contest like the Enhanced Games, where there are activities that are newly advanced, not properly researched, and potentially dangerous, there will likely be fewer eager signups of competitors. Therefore, having a high financial prize risks entering the zone of economic coercion, whilst nobody is forcing the athletes to compete, as identified by D’Souza, often we see athletes “who have achieved the highest level of human excellence, and they’re living an objectively impoverished existence”. Thus, it has been acknowledged that athletes, despite being brilliant, may be in poor financial scenarios, and this attractive prize offered by the enhanced games may be unethical if athletes are only entering to escape financial issue as poverty removes choice, with the need for money overriding informed consent.

Impact on young people

Moving beyond the risk to the athletes, the Enhanced Games may send a damaging message to the youth and aspiring athletes. Athletes are common role models among young people, thus what they endorse will be popular among young people. The promotion of drugs could normalise or even glamorise drug usage. This could undo decades’ worth of education and anti-drug campaigns aimed at young people. Therefore, the Enhanced Games for entertainment purposes must be weighed against the negative societal risk.

Are we already not breaking competition rules

The Enhanced Games risks opening a portal for more dystopian events, leading to the question is this just the beginning. Well, perhaps this is not the beginning but the end. Take beauty pageants, for example: what was once based on pure beauty has now, unknowingly, manifested into a celebration of pushing human beauty to unthinkable measures. Many competitions do not prohibit plastic surgery or enhancements like makeup. Therefore, perhaps performance enhancement drugs are simply what society has been gently becoming accustomed to and is not that different from what we have already allowed for many decades in other competition forms.

The Enhanced Games could mean we need to consider how the rules have developed in other competitions. Plastic surgery is a physical change made to the body, similar to the effects of doping in sports, so should the rules of beauty pageants be reassessed? Perhaps even considering the equipment used by athletes should be standardised for example, in football, should all players be made to wear the same boots to ensure ultimate fairness?

Conclusion

The Enhanced Games have stirred up numerous concerns and criticism; however, when considering the broader picture, how much more dystopian is the event to ordinary life that we are living? We are living in a world of advanced technology, unnatural editing and pushing the limits of the human body. Like with beauty pageants, where the human body is pushed to its limit to conform to a certain standard, the Enhanced Games is promoting pushing the human body to superhuman limits. However, as much uproar as these advancements have caused, they have eventually become normalised in society.

D’Souza raised a strong point about body autonomy but this autonomy is only granted to those without financial constraints and other factors pushing them to compete for the generous prizes, if this event takes place, there must be strong safeguarding measures and welfare checks. The question is, will this be the same for the enhanced games soon become normalised, and is the World Anti-Doping Association going to soon be out of business when the default in sports will be doping… is this the beginning or the beginning of the end.

Liya Hussain is a law graduate with an interest in human rights, gender law and legal pluralism, with a specific interest in violence against women and girls.