Team GB Olympic silver medallist Ben Proud has announced his retirement from traditional swimming to compete at the Enhanced Games, a groundbreaking and highly controversial new sporting event that allows athletes to use performance enhancing drugs.
The Enhanced Games, created by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza, is set to take place next May and will feature competitors who are permitted to take banned substances under medical supervision.
The radical concept has drawn widespread debate over athlete safety and the ethics of performance enhancement.
Proud, 30, revealed his decision in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday, becoming the first British athlete to sign up for the competition.
“I’m 30 years old and retirement has been a topic of contention for quite a few years,” he said.
“In reality, us athletes in the Olympic programme don’t earn enough money to retire off the back of this and I am always seeking something that can see me through a bit longer.”
The financial rewards offered by the Enhanced Games are significant. A $1 million (£800,000) bonus is up for grabs for breaking the world record in the 50m freestyle, Proud’s signature event, in which he has previously won both world and European gold medals.
The prize money dwarfs that of traditional swimming competitions. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the total prize pot for swimming was just $2.73 million (£2.18 million), with $20,000 (£16,000) awarded to individual event winners. Proud argued that the disparity in earnings played a major role in his decision.
“It would take 13 years of winning a World Championship title to earn the same amount as winning a single race at the Enhanced Games,” he explained.
The announcement has sparked fierce debate within the sporting world. Supporters of the Enhanced Games claim it provides an alternative platform for athletes and pushes the boundaries of human performance. Critics, however, warn that it risks undermining clean sport and poses significant health concerns.
Proud’s move is expected to generate intense discussion ahead of next year’s event, as the sporting community grapples with what could be a transformative – and divisive – moment in competitive swimming.
