An Olympic gold medalist is among a group of Australians keen to compete in an event for drug-using athletes.
Aron D’Souza, the Australian entrepreneur behind Enhanced Games, says the ‘household name’ is one of more than 900 athletes worldwide interested in taking part in the multi-sport event without drug testing.
Two billionaires, including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, have been revealed as investors in Enhanced Games, due to be held in the middle of next year.
Melbourne-born London businessman D’Souza says “many Australians” have expressed an interest in competing but are not yet willing to reveal their identities.
‘I wish I could tell you. But there is one Australian gold medalist who reached out… a very famous name,” D’Souza said.
“He said, ‘I’d love to participate.’
President of the Enhanced Games Dr. Aron D’Souza wants to make his drug-fuelled sports championships a reality
In the Enhanced Games, athletes would not be tested for drugs in an attempt to see what people are capable of if doping is unlimited (stock image)
At least one former Australian athlete wants to compete in the Enhanced Games if they become a reality (stock image)
“If you think about it, if you’re a retired Olympian, what do you have… you’re definitely not rich.
“We have the capital structure now and I want to make our athletes rich.
‘Because it is fundamentally unfair that the highest paid people in the sports apparatus are people like John Coates in Australia, Sebastian Coe here (in Europe), Thomas Bach – the bureaucrats.’
D’Souza was “genuinely surprised” by the number of athletes who wanted to participate.
“But it’s also so clear that this is the future,” he said.
“As you’ve seen over the past year and a half with artificial intelligence, what was once science fiction is now reality.
‘And humans will accelerate and the greatest limitation to our acceleration is our weak biological form.
“The Enhanced Games will be the first stop on this journey of humanism, where we can overcome our biology and become something greater.”
Thiel and a fellow billionaire – venture capitalist and biotech pioneer Christian Angermayer – along with multi-millionaire tech and crypto capitalist Balaji Srinivasan, have been revealed as private sector backers of Enhanced Games.
“It’s really surprising that these people took action so quickly,” D’Souza said.
“We now have enough capital to produce the entire first event.”
Global television networks and streaming services are in negotiations with D’Souza, president of Enhanced Games.
Venues around the world are pitching to host the first event of five disciplines: athletics, swimming and diving, gymnastics, weightlifting and martial arts.
Enhanced Games athletes are not required to disclose any performance enhancement regimens.
“However, we set a series of biomarkers: the heart, injection rate, heart size, different vitamin levels and so on,” D’Souza said.
“And you have to stay within those biomarker ranges and that’s all supported by a robust set of clinical and scientific literature.
“We’re going to do a full system health check on all our athletes – blood tests, MRIs, ECGs (electrocardiogram), especially organ imaging, to make sure they don’t have an enlarged heart.”
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In addition to lucrative financial incentives, athletes would get an equity stake in Enhanced Games – which D’Souza expects to host at an established venue, bypassing the need to build infrastructure, with hundreds of competitors.
“Breaking world records safely is the most important thing,” he said.
“…I’m sure the fastest man in the world, the fastest woman in the world, will be at the Enhanced Games.”
Up to seven qualifying events will take place around the world, including Australia, in December ahead of the first Games in the middle of next year.
“We now have a very clear timeline for the event,” D’Souza said.
‘That is the calculation we make: can we break a cultural taboo?
“And when we do that, we will have the crown jewel of international sport and a way to inspire humanity to believe in the possibility of improvement.”
