Prize money for Enhanced Olympics is revealed – and how it compares to Olympics

The difference is staggering

As the first event is set to take place on May 24, it includes events in swimming, athletics and weightlifting.

The organisers of the Enhanced Games claim these substances must be FDA-approved and used under medical supervision.

The Games, according to the creators, were founded based on the principle of bodily autonomy for athletes.

They have been met with condemnation and criticism from the sporting world as well as the scientific community, as the safety risks of encouraging performance-enhancing drug use have been highlighted.

Why the Games are a big no go is due to the fact that athletes competing are allowed to take substances, performance enhancing medication or drugs, that would under international anti-doping rules see an athlete banned from competing at any World Cup, Olympics or World Championship.

What exactly are the Enhanced Games

As one of the most controversial events in sports history is about to take centre stage, we look at the concept and the reasons for its creation by the founders.

Anyone taking part in the Games was “moronic”, according to World Athletics president Lord Coe, while World Aquatics then became the first governing body to ban anyone involved from its events, the BBC reported.

Nevertheless, the backlash and condemnation seem to fall on deaf ears.

The organisers of the Enhanced Games have insisted that an approach based on freedom, choice and openness, but conducted in a controlled way, is preferable.

To make things more alarming, some of the athletes claim they have lost faith in the anti-doping system.

The Enhanced Games seem much more than a sports event, however, as they will showcase a new frontier for self-optimisation and the use of science to push biological boundaries.

In March, the company which founded the Games launched a “personalised medicine and supplement platform” on its website, hailing its “performance and longevity products”.

It included hormone replacement therapy for men and women, peptides and weight-loss medication.

German venture capitalist Christan Angermayer, who is Enhanced's co-founder, said that he believes “consumers will observe the tangible results Enhanced Group's athletes achieve and seek to apply those enhancements to their own lives”.

Who came up with the idea and why are they happening

Australian businessman Aron D'Souza reportedly had the idea for The Enhanced Games after noticing many people at a gym in the US were using steroids.

The Games’ co-founders include Maximilian Martin who has since replaced D'Souza as Chief Executive. Martin is an investment banker and bitcoin entrepreneur.

The other co-founder is German biotech billionaire Christian Angermayer, while the Games also secured investment from several crypto-currency investors and venture capital firms including '1789 Capital' a firm owned by Donald Trump Jnr, son of the US President.

According to their information, The Enhanced Games is a “new global sports competition designed to push the boundaries of human performance. The Games challenge traditional models of sport by embracing science, innovation, and measurable performance enhancement under regulated conditions.”

How ‘looksmaxxing’, weight loss obsession and the Enhanced Games are related

The times when the Games are taking place are problematic as concerns are being raised of over the medicalisation of Western society.

They take place as social media and “looksmaxxing” are blamed for fuelling demand for weight-loss injections, cosmetic treatments and performance substances, according to the BBC.

The UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) said that on a regular basis, a “concerning” number of young people are being exposed to social media adverts for “life-threatening” performance-enhancing substances.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Ukad chief executive Jane Rumble said that the Enhanced Games “sends a dangerous message about PEDs, with little if anything said about the health risks associated, and those risks are significant”.

Meanwhile, according to Prof Ian Boardley of Birmingham University, whose research has been supported by WADA, competitors run the risk of a greater chance of heart attacks and psychiatric issues and that organisers' assurances over medical supervision were “incorrect and misleading”.

Leading experts have also warned that by taking performance enhanced drugs, Enhanced Games competitors run the risk of their libido being “killed off” as well as a greater chance of heart attacks and psychiatric issues.

The prize money of The Enhanced Games revealed and the British athletes competing

The most well-known British athlete who has joined the Enhanced Games is perhaps Team GB Olympic swimmer, Ben Proud.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics swimming the 50m freestyle while he is a three-time World Champion across long course and short course in freestyle and butterfly.

Proud announced in September last year that he was to retire from international swimming to pursue an opportunity with the Enhanced Games.

He was fully aware that he would be banned from competing internationally if he ever chose to try to return, by doing so.

“I understand that by going down this route it casts a lot of questions as to what I've done, but ultimately that's just public perception”, he told Sky Sports after his decision.

Emily Barclay is also a swimmer although without the decorated CV of Proud. She won freestyle gold at the British Championships in 2019 before competing in the US for the University of Arkansas in the NCAA, while she has also competed for Great Britain at the World University Games.

In August last year, Reece Prescod confirmed that he’d join the Enhanced Games in January, and like Proud, officially retired from international sport.

Prescod, now 31, had a very good career in a GB vest winning an individual silver medal running the 100m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships and a bronze 4x100m relay medal at the World Championships in 2022.

Proud said it would take “13 years of winning a World Championship title” for athletes to earn the same amount of prize money on offer for winning a single race at the Enhanced Games.

As per the BBC, The Enhanced Games offers appearance fees, with a $1m bonus on offer for breaking the world record for the 50m freestyle - the event in which Proud has won world and European gold.

Winners of each event will earn $250,000 as part of a promised prize-money pool of $25 million. Any athlete who breaks a world record Sunday can earn a $1 million prize.

At the World Aquatics Championships in 2022, the total prize money for swimming was $2.73m, with athletes receiving $20,000 for finishing first.

The difference in money between The Enhanced Games and The Olympics

Compared to the Enhanced Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) historically does not pay prize money.

The Enhanced Games offers significantly larger financial payouts than the Olympics, providing a guaranteed base salary and prize money for every competitor rather than relying heavily on sponsorships.

Individual countries and sports federations offer varying financial bonuses to medalists. For example, a U.S. Olympic gold medalist receives a bonus, while World Athletics offers for gold medalists in track and field.

According to the BBC, the vast majority of Olympic athletes receive little to no direct compensation from the Games themselves and rely heavily on corporate endorsements or national funding programs.

For those who are interested to watch the controversial events as they unfold, The Enhanced Games will be live streamed on Sunday evening local time through Roku across the US, and internationally on its YouTube channel.

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