The stage is set, the arena is built, and the athletes are “juiced to the gills,” as swimmer James Magnussen put it. The competitors have spent months loading up on anabolic steroids, testosterone esters, growth hormones, and metabolic modulators, training on stimulants like adderall, with their eyes locked on the prize. There’s $25 million on line — if they can break records this weekend, some of them will be going home with a lot of money.
The Enhanced Games are the newest, most bizarre, and intriguing pro sports event out there, and it’s causing a stir. Surrounded by controversy and funded by controversial investors like Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr., this competition is drawing a lot of side-eye.
However, when we spoke with the athletes on the Friday before the event, they were all buzzing excitedly. Every one of them said they were feeling better than they ever had ahead of a competition. Some of them were bragging about having reduced their biological ages by over a decade. No one was complaining about side effects. And almost several mentioned how excited they were for Enhanced “products” to become available for the public.
During a hectic press meeting, GearJunkie caught up with the athletes to discuss how training has been, how they’re feeling ahead of the Games, and what it means to be competing as an Enhanced Athlete.
Meet the Athletes: Enhanced & Otherwise
James Magnussen, 34, Swimmer — AUS
With 8 Olympic gold medals, 5 silver, and 3 bronze, Magnussen is no stranger to winning competitions. As an Olympic swimmer for Australia he competed clean. But now, at the age of 34, he’s embracing the opportunity to be the first generation of a new breed of athlete in a new kind of competiton.
“I reached my natural peak quite some time ago, to be honest. But this is a separate endeavor, and it should be seen for now as entertainment, and in the future, as human optimization and human performance,” Magnussen said. “And beyond that, as something that is available to the general public. Because I believe these things can be used safely.”
Magnussen called the Enhanced Games the “future of sport.”
“My biological age has reduced from 35 to 23. That’s through organ function, heart health, hormone levels. That’s an entire picture of my current health,” he said. “So, as a 35-year-old, to be told in biological terms, “You’re 23.” It’s not bad. All the athletes seem to be really calm and happy.”
He was very confident that swimming records will be broken on Sunday. Whether by him or another competitor.
Thor Björnsson, 37, Weightlifter — ISL
Popularly known for his role as The Mountain on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Björnsson is also one of the most accomplished and decorated weightlifters in history. This weekend, he’s competing against Mitchell Hooper of Canada to break the world deadlift record. He’s “been enhanced for a while,” he said. But, as he explained, he had to modify his typical substance regimen because the Enhanced Games only allow athletes to use FDA-approved drugs.
“I think I feel healthier because I’m under better supervision, better checkups. I’m doing more often blood works,” he said. “The biggest side effect for me is I feel stronger.”
Björnsson said he’s been in Las Vegas for a month, adapting to the climate, the time zone, and generally preparing his mind and body.
“I left everything, all additional work, all extra pressure behind in Iceland,” he said. “I came here to focus on this.”
Hunter Armstrong, 25, Swimming — USA
Armstrong is one of two athletes competing in the Enhanced Games as a “non-Enhanced” competitor. He said his training for this event was significantly different than normal — not because of who he was training to swim against, but because of what he was training for.
“I had to do a lot of stroke-specific and race-specific work and put a much bigger focus on power. Rather than having to spread super wide to get a massive aerobic base,” he said.
Asked why he chose to compete as a non-Enhanced athlete, Armstrong didn’t hesitate.
“I personally have always taken pride in getting as far as I can on natural God-given talent,” he said. “And I’m not willing to bend on that, and it does not matter how much money is offered or anything.”
Marvin Bracy-Williams, 32, Track — USA
Bracey-Williams competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics and was on a meteoric rise when he was issued a 3-year and 9-month ban from sanctioned running events for anti-doping violations. At the Enhanced Games, he’s found his home. He said he’s got no interest in competing in traditional competitions anymore. He’s on the payroll with Enhanced and has signed a two-year contract with the Games.
Bracey-Williams, who is a father of two, said one of the biggest draws for him was finances. As an Enhanced athlete, he’s being paid a real salary and has the opportunity to win hundreds of thousands of dollars this weekend.
“I can make $100,000 in nine seconds,” he said. “When that came out, the athletes, we were foaming at the mouth.”
Bracey-Williams said the substance regimens have been a “great” part of the training. He immediately felt the differences in his recovery, which, as he said, gave him a leg up right off the bat.
“You can still train hard when you’re not Enhanced. It’s just, it may take you three, four, five days to recover, whereas I can continuously do it,” he said.
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