Enhanced Games Claims Greek Swimmer Breaks 50m Freestyle World Records

The Enhanced Games, a controversial new competition that allows performance-enhancing drugs, announced that Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev broke two 50m freestyle world records, including surpassing the 2009 record set by Cesar Cielo. Gkolomeev, who began using banned substances under coach Brett Hawke in January, swam 20.89 seconds wearing a full-length polyurethane suit and 21.03 seconds in regulation-compliant jammers, outperforming the current world record holders. The organization, backed by venture capital including Donald Trump Jr. and Peter Thiel, plans its inaugural event in Las Vegas in May 2026, offering $1 million bonuses to record-breaking athletes. The Enhanced Games operates independently from the Olympics and World Aquatics, which do not recognize these records and strongly criticize the event for endangering athlete health and undermining fair play. Despite backlash from anti-doping agencies labeling it dangerous and irresponsible, the Games promote the idea of pushing human performance boundaries with medical supervision and financial incentives. Gkolomeev expressed that the Games provided resources to reach new performance levels and fair pay, highlighting frustration with traditional sports earnings despite Olympic success.