Games Sprint Medal Winner Fred Kerley Signs Up for Performance-Enhanced Competition Weeks Following Ban
This Games 100m medal winner Fred Kerley is set to participate in the inaugural Enhanced Games, event organisers confirmed on Wednesday, only a short time following the Athletics Integrity Unit issued the American a provisional suspension for whereabouts failures.
The Athlete Makes Historic Move
The 2022 sprint global title holder is the initial sprinting competitor and American man to participate in the competition that allows athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs that are prohibited in traditional competition.
“I am excited to this new chapter and taking part at the Enhanced Games,” stated Kerley. “A global best has always been the ultimate goal of my career. This now gives me the opportunity to focus all my energy to testing my limits and becoming the quickest human to has ever live.”
Enhanced Games: A New Frontier or Danger?
Officials claim that the Enhanced Games can assist in revolutionizing athletic research as it bucks worldwide anti-doping standards, while opponents have derided it as dangerous to competitors' health.
Enhanced Games filed an anti-trust legal case against World Aquatics, US swimming authorities and the global anti-doping organization for as much as $800m in August, alleging an unlawful campaign to “eliminate” the competition. Wada previously slammed the competition as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
Expanding List of Top Competitors
Kerley is alongside several top-level swimmers who have previously agreed for the games, such as Games silver medallist athlete Ben Proud, the first British competitor to sign on.
“Kerley’s choice to participate with us does not just shows our aim of hosting the thrilling athletic competitions out there, but also strengthens the growing attraction of the Enhanced Games as the future of elite athletics,” said the Enhanced Games chief executive, Maximilian Martin.
This inaugural Enhanced Games is set for Las Vegas in May 2026.
