The inaugural Enhanced Games takes place tonight at Resorts World Las Vegas, bringing together 40 athletes across swimming, track, weightlifting, and strongman in a one-day competition where performance-enhancing drugs are openly permitted.
Gates open at 2:30 PM PT, with the first event beginning at 3:35 PM.
The event also features multiple $1 million bonuses for athletes who break recognized world records during competition, adding another layer of attention to one of the most controversial sporting events in recent memory.
Ben Proud and Kristian Gkolomeev are the names to watch in the men’s 50m freestyle, the final event of the night. Gkolomeev swam 20.89 during an Enhanced Games showcase last year, just off César Cielo’s longstanding world record of 20.88. Proud has publicly stated he believes both athletes are capable of breaking the mark tonight.
On the track, Fred Kerley is the biggest name in the field. The former world champion and Olympic medalist has publicly stated he will compete non-enhanced while facing a field largely built around the event’s open-enhancement model. Usain Bolt’s 9.58 world record appears safe, but the matchup itself remains one of the headline attractions of the night.
The strongman showdown between Thor Björnsson and Mitchell Hooper will unfold across three deadlift rounds woven throughout the primetime session. Björnsson holds 124 strength sport world records, while Hooper enters as the 2023 World’s Strongest Man champion and one of the sport’s biggest active stars.
Of the 40 athletes currently known to be competing, three have publicly stated they will compete non-enhanced: Fred Kerley 🇺🇸, Hunter Armstrong 🇺🇸, and Sohib Khaled 🇯🇴
Questions Around Timing and Course Verification
The Enhanced Games has not disclosed whether the pool or sprint track have been independently certified for distance. Timing precision has been confirmed, with results measured to 0.001 seconds in swimming and 0.0001 seconds in track, but no third-party measurement authority has been publicly named.
Both the swimming pool and sprint track were specially constructed inside Resorts World Las Vegas for tonight’s event. The organization has not released independent certification details for either competition surface.
Any marks posted tonight would have no path to official world record recognition regardless of what they clock.
Full Enhanced Games Schedule
Women’s Snatch — 3:35 PM PT
Weightlifting · Final
🇩🇴 Beatriz Pirón
🇨🇴 Leidy Solís
🇳🇬 Maryam Usman
Men’s Snatch — 3:54 PM PT · Group 1
Weightlifting
🇨🇺 Arley Méndez
🇨🇦 Boady Santavy
🇺🇸 Dylan Cooper
🇲🇽 Juan Solís
🇺🇸 Wesley Kitts
Men’s 50m Backstroke — 4:22 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇮🇪 Shane Ryan
🇧🇬 Antani Ivanov
🇺🇸 Hunter Armstrong
🇯🇴 Sohib Khaled
Men’s 50m Breaststroke — 4:34 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇧🇷 Felipe Lima
🇺🇸 Cody Miller
🇷🇺 Evgenii Somov
🇲🇽 Miguel de Lara Ojeda
Women’s Clean & Jerk — 4:43 PM PT
Weightlifting · Final
🇩🇴 Beatriz Pirón
🇨🇴 Leidy Solís
🇳🇬 Maryam Usman
Men’s Clean & Jerk — 5:08 PM PT
Weightlifting
🇨🇺 Arley Méndez
🇨🇦 Boady Santavy
🇺🇸 Dylan Cooper
🇲🇽 Juan Solís
🇺🇸 Wesley Kitts
DJ Alan Walker Set — 5:30 PM PT
Men’s Snatch — StrongMan Division — 6:03 PM PT
Weightlifting
🇮🇸 Thor Björnsson
🇨🇦 Mitchell Hooper
Women’s 100m Sprint — 6:21 PM PT
Track · Heat
🇺🇸 Shania Collins
🇺🇸 Taylor Anderson
🇺🇸 Jasmine Abrams
🇯🇲 Denae McFarlane
🇺🇸 Shockoria Wallace
Men’s 100m Freestyle — 6:39 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇮🇪 Shane Ryan
🇬🇷 Kristian Gkolomeev
🇦🇺 James Magnussen
🇺🇸 Hunter Armstrong
Men’s 100m Sprint — 6:51 PM PT
Track · Heat
🇺🇸 Fred Kerley
🇺🇸 Marvin Bracy-Williams
🇱🇷 Emmanuel Matadi
🇬🇧 Reece Prescod
🇫🇷 Mouhamadou Fall
🇩🇪 Mike Bryan
🇿🇦 Clarence Munyai
Women’s 50m Freestyle — 7:04 PM PT
Swimming · Final · $1M World Record Bonus
🇬🇧 Emily Barclay
🇨🇴 Isabella Arcila
🇵🇱 Natalia Fryckowska
🇺🇸 Megan Romano
Men’s Clean & Jerk — StrongMan Division — 7:15 PM PT
Weightlifting
🇮🇸 Thor Björnsson
🇨🇦 Mitchell Hooper
Men’s 50m Butterfly — 7:41 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇬🇧 Ben Proud
🇩🇪 Marius Kusch
🇮🇪 Max McCusker
🇺🇦 Andrii Govorov
Men’s Deadlift — StrongMan Division — 7:55 PM PT
Strongman · Rounds 1–3
🇮🇸 Thor Björnsson
🇨🇦 Mitchell Hooper
Men’s 100m Breaststroke — 8:03 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇧🇷 Felipe Lima
🇺🇸 Cody Miller
🇷🇺 Evgenii Somov
🇲🇽 Miguel de Lara Ojeda
Women’s 100m Freestyle — 8:20 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇬🇧 Emily Barclay
🇨🇴 Isabella Arcila
🇵🇱 Natalia Fryckowska
🇺🇸 Megan Romano
Women’s 100m Sprint — 8:43 PM PT
Track · Final
Finalists TBD after heats
Men’s 100m Butterfly — 8:56 PM PT
Swimming · Final
🇧🇬 Antani Ivanov
🇩🇪 Marius Kusch
🇮🇪 Max McCusker
🇯🇴 Sohib Khaled
Men’s 100m Sprint — 9:11 PM PT
Track · Final · $1M World Record Bonus
Finalists TBD after heats
Men’s 50m Freestyle — 9:25 PM PT
Swimming · Final · $1M World Record Bonus
🇬🇧 Ben Proud
🇬🇷 Kristian Gkolomeev
🇦🇺 James Magnussen
🇺🇦 Andrii Govorov.
Prize Money
The Enhanced Games has promoted more than $25 million in total athlete compensation, though the organization has not disclosed how much of that figure comes from prize money versus appearance fees.
The following payouts have been publicly confirmed.
Each swimming event carries a $500,000 purse split across four finishers:
1st — $250,000
2nd — $125,000
3rd — $75,000
4th — $50,000
Track finals pay seven places:
1st — $250,000
2nd — $125,000
3rd — $75,000
4th — $50,000
5th — $30,000
6th — $20,000
7th — $20,000
Prize structures for weightlifting and strongman have not been publicly confirmed.
A $1 million bonus is available for world records in the men’s 50m freestyle and men’s 100m sprint. All other events carry a $250,000 world record bonus.
How To Watch the Enhanced Games
The Enhanced Games will stream live on YouTube.
Here is the dystopian future predicted by Saturday Night Live in 1988.