Enhanced Games Are Dangerous And Must Be Stopped, Says Wada Head

The caput of nan World Anti-doping Agency has called connected US anti-doping authorities to enactment to extremity nan Enhanced Games, describing nan caller arena – which allows athletes to return performance-enhancing narcotics successful title - arsenic “dangerous” and “irresponsible”.

Witold Banka said nan world’s anti-doping regimes had to beryllium “very united” successful their guidance to nan Enhanced Games and said Usada had a work to push against it. Banka went connected to criticise nan anti-doping authorities successful nan US, astatine a clip erstwhile nan US authorities has withheld important backing from Wada’s operations.

“Sometimes we don’t cognize what to opportunity astir this ridiculous idea, because from nan ethical constituent of view, from nan civilized constituent of view, really is it imaginable that group travel to work together to compete, taking each these prohibited substances?”, Banka said. “It’s wholly against everything that we are doing. It’s very dangerous. I dream it will not happen, though location are rather important and rich | group who are sponsors of this irresponsible event.”

Banka said anti-doping authorities had to beryllium “very strong” successful their guidance to nan Games. “I deliberation we person to beryllium very united”, he said. “We really want our colleagues from nan US to do much to make judge that this arena will not happen. There are immoderate ineligible possibilities they tin lobby for. Usada person made wide comments, but possibly it’s clip to effort and person nan group who person financed this that it’s dangerous. That’s [Usada’s] domiciled and work because nan arena is going to return spot successful Las Vegas.”

The Enhanced Games is scheduled to return spot adjacent twelvemonth astatine Resorts World successful Nevada, pinch events successful swimming, athletics and weightlifting. Marketing itself arsenic “pioneering a caller era successful diversion title that embraces technological advancements to push nan boundaries of quality performance”, it is backed by backing from an finance group that includes Donald Trump Jr. The arena has attracted world headlines and opprobrium successful adjacent measurement because of its attack towards PEDs and nan $250,000 rewards offered to athletes for breaking world records, pinch $1m connected connection successful 50m Freestyle Swimming and 100m sprint.

The caput of Usada, Travis Tygart, has antecedently called nan Enhanced Games “a comedian show”, but has besides been heavy captious of Wada. In nan aftermath of nan contention involving 23 Chinese swimmers, who competed astatine nan Tokyo Olympics contempt signaling affirmative supplier tests, Tygart said that Wada had “accepted China tin play by its ain group of rules”. An independent reappraisal later recovered nary grounds of bias towards China successful Wada’s response. Tygart besides supported a determination by nan US authorities to withold backing from Wada earlier this year, saying it was “the only correct prime to protect athletes’ authorities and adjacent competition”.

Speaking successful London connected Thursday, Banka said Wada was “very keen” to activity pinch Usada but that “it has to beryllium based connected communal respect”. He past went connected to criticise nan US anti-doping regime, noting that nan National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is not a signatory to nan World Anti-Doping Code.

“When we spot anti-doping successful US, nan problem is that this is acold from cleanable system”, Banka said. “Almost 90% of US athletes are not competing nether nan world anti-doping code. [Elsewhere] only 308 samples were collected successful nan six months aft nan Olympics successful 2024. Ask yourself if [the US system] is robust aliases it requires improvement. Is location a awesome anti-doping programme successful nan strongest sporting federation successful nan world?

“China was a adjacent determination and was utilized successful nan US against Wada to destruct its image”, Banka went on. “This is politicisation. There is zero grounds that location was thing incorrect connected Wada’s side. My wish is that alternatively of politicisation and attacking us, nan clip is utilized to reside nan gaps and fortify nan anti-doping strategy successful nan US.”