The inaugural Enhanced Games are underway in Las Vegas and are set to be a unique spectacle that promotes drug-induced “enhancement”.

The International Olympic Committee has condemned the event as a way to “destroy any concept of fair play” and “moronic”.

Read more: The Enhanced Games: ‘dangerous clown show’ or a wake-up call for traditional sport?

But the Enhanced Games remain appealing to many athletes and followers.

In our recent study, we analysed some of the organisers’ claims, including:

doping is an inevitable progression of sport

doping is an inevitable progression of sport

athletes should be free to choose what they do with their bodies

athletes should be free to choose what they do with their bodies

many athletes already use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)

many athletes already use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)

ageing is a “disease” that can be overcome using PEDs.

ageing is a “disease” that can be overcome using PEDs.

Forty-two athletes will compete in swimming, sprinting, weightlifting and strongman. They can claim $1 million bounties for “breaking” world records (previously set by drug-tested athletes).

The athletes involved include Australian former 100 metres freestyle world champion James Magnussen, US 2022 world 100m sprinting champion Fred Kerley, and the UK’s Ben Proud, who won silver in the Paris Olympics in the 50m freestyle.

Unlike “mainstream” athletes, those competing in the Enhanced Games can use US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved performance-enhancing........

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