Enhanced Games eyes Olympics-style event

BOXROX reported on May 18 that the Enhanced Games are no longer a hypothetical concept but a scheduled competition in Las Vegas built around open use of performance-enhancing drugs. The event is being organized by Enhanced, a company founded by Aron D’Souza, which says its inaugural Games will be held at Resorts World Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Enhanced describes the format as a multi-sport competition spanning swimming, track and field, weightlifting and strongman, with athletes competing under what it calls regulated enhancement conditions. BOXROX’s article drew a clear line between the Enhanced Games and CrossFit-sanctioned competition, saying the event is separate from CrossFit and not tied to semifinal results or Games qualification. ### When and where is this event supposed to happen? Enhanced said in a May 21, 2025 announcement that Las Vegas would host the inaugural Games over Memorial Day weekend 2026 at Resorts World Las Vegas. The company said the venue would include a purpose-built competition complex with a four-lane 50-meter pool, a six-lane sprint track and a weightlifting stage. (boxrox.com) The company’s current Games page says the inaugural event will take place on May 24, 2026, at Resorts World Las Vegas with 2,500 invite-only spectators in a custom-built arena. BOXROX reported the broader event window as May 21-24 and noted that the start date had been altered. ### What sports and prize money are on offer? Enhanced said the 2026 program includes swimming events such as the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle and butterfly, sprint events including the 100 meters and hurdles, and Olympic-style weightlifting events including the snatch and clean and jerk. (enhanced.com) The Games page also lists strongman as part of the 2026 lineup. (enhanced.com) The company said each individual event carries a total prize purse of $500,000, with $250,000 awarded to first place. Enhanced also said it would offer appearance fees and $1 million bonuses for world records in the 100-meter sprint and 50-meter freestyle, while its current site says total athlete compensation is $25 million. (enhanced.com) ### Which athletes have been named publicly? Enhanced said swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev broke the 50-meter freestyle world record at its May 2025 announcement event with a time of 20.89 seconds and received a $1 million prize. The company also said Gkolomeev set a fastest-ever 50-meter freestyle in jammers at 21.03 seconds. (enhanced.com) BOXROX said British swimmer Ben Proud had signed with the Enhanced Games and cited the BBC as saying he compared the potential payout to roughly 13 years of world championship winnings. Enhanced’s May 15 viewing guide also named Fred Kerley, Ben Proud, Shania Collins, Boady Santavy, Megan Romano, Reece Prescod and Arley Méndez among athletes tied to the event. (enhanced.com) A January 2026 Enhanced announcement added sprinters including Marvin Bracy-Williams, Clarence Munyai, Reece Prescod, Shockoria Wallace, Taylor Anderson and Mike Bryan, and said they would join previously announced athletes including Kerley, Collins, Mouhamadou Fall and Emmanuel Matadi. ### How is the event being presented to viewers? (boxrox.com) Enhanced said on May 15 that the inaugural competition would stream live on May 24 across Roku, YouTube, Rumble, Twitch and Kick. The company said opening events would begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the main show starting at 9 p.m. ET. Enhanced’s newsroom said Roku would serve as the North American streaming home, Rumble had signed a distribution agreement, and Zoop entered a $10 million creator-platform partnership tied to the inaugural Games. (enhanced.com) The company also said Emmanuel Acho and Bryan Johnson would be part of its broadcast team, and Alan Walker would headline the opening concert. ### Is this connected to CrossFit in any formal way? (enhanced.com) BOXROX said the Enhanced Games are separate from CrossFit and did not present the event as a CrossFit-sanctioned competition. The article did not include CrossFit semifinal standings, CrossFit Games qualification news or any indication that the event feeds into CrossFit’s competitive structure. (enhanced.com) Enhanced’s own materials describe the project as a standalone sports competition and performance-products company. Its published event materials focus on its own athlete roster, venue, sponsors and distribution plans rather than any affiliation with CrossFit. Enhanced said the next public milestone is the live event on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from Resorts World Las Vegas. (boxrox.com) The company’s viewing guide names Fred Kerley, Ben Proud, Kristian Gkolomeev, Thor Björnsson and Mitchell Hooper among participants scheduled to appear in the streamed competition. (enhanced.com 1) (enhanced.com 2)