Emma Gillespie

Now, the Enhanced Games had a bit of a trimmed down version of that early vision, and it included events across swimming, athletics, and weightlifting.

So just those three categories.

But the prize money on offer was really the big hook and the selling point of these games.

You know, apart from the fascination with doping, athletes were promised a million dollar bonus for breaking world records.

That's US dollars.

And, you know, the minimum prize for competing, even if you came last, you'd still go home with about $50,000.

This is a completely commercial venture and just how commercial we'll get into later because some of the criticism that's been aimed at the Enhanced Games has been to do with this very fact that actually the business behind it is selling its own supplements, steroids, injections, all sorts of things online and that this has kind of been a marketing vehicle towards that business.

Is it because they're a company selling that?

Well, really the initial wave of concern and the biggest issue comes down to athletes' safety and wellbeing.

So we've heard from just about every global sporting body you can think of who have condemned the enhanced games really over this debate of ethics and health.

So...

As I mentioned, that primary concern really is about physical well-being.

These are banned substances.

We're not talking about illicit drugs, illegal drugs.

It's not like these athletes are, you know, doing cocaine and then racing.

They're taking drugs that are approved by the FDA, the US Drug Authority, but they're banned in the world of competitive sports.

So World Aquatics has called this a circus built on shortcuts.

The Sport Integrity Australia CEO called it a grossly irresponsible event.

And the US Anti-Doping Authority accused organisers of looking to make a quick buck at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams.

So there is that debate of, you know, what are the health concerns, but also what is the message that this sends out to the world of creating this spectacle out of, you know, real people's lives?