Enhanced Games could have negative impact

Former Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) executive director Renee Ann Shirley says that the consequences of athletes participating in the proposed Enhanced Games will be far-reaching, doing damage to their image in an environment that already is in an aggressive fight for clean sports.

The Enhanced Games is a proposed alternative Olympic-styled competition with no drug testing led by Melbourne-born businessman Aron D’Souza with plans to stage the event in December next year. In a report by British newspaper The Guardian on June 23, D’Souza insisted that the athletes have full autonomy over what they do with their bodies, criticising the International Olympic Committee being a “one-party state running the world of sport for 100 years”.

Two high-profile Australian athletes have reportedly expressed interest in competing in the event which will include track and field, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports However, Shirley believes that athletes competing in the ‘Games’ could damage their image given the climate that the fight for clean support is currently facing.

“If I am an athlete, you have to think about your career with limited options. What are the options for the athletes? The reason that you have World Athletics moving their championships to every two years, part of it is prestige and money. Who is going to go and put through (those athletes) on their national teams?” Shirley told The Gleaner. “Image wise. Everything on social media and in life is all about image.”

There has been dissent over the proposal. Australia’s Paris 2024 Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares called the concept “a joke, unfair and unsafe”.

Safer for the athletes

In a RadioJamaica Sports interview last Thursday, D’Souza argued that it would be safer for the athletes in a controlled environment and that it is not mandatory for athletes to take any enhanced substances to compete in the games.

“The unfortunate consequence of having rigorous drug testing regimes at the Olympics means that athletes are forced underground in using drugs, ordering off the internet, injecting themselves and not doing it with clinical supervision. By doing it all out in the open, it creates an environment where athletes feel empowered to speak with their doctors and leading scientists and make much more informed decisions about their bodies,” D’Souza said.

However, sports medicine specialist Dr Akshai Mansingh said that the effects are still severe, even if they are monitored carefully.

“Even if is controlled, it is highly dangerous for people who are taking those sorts of enhancing drugs. They can have long-term effects. Performance-enhancing methods or drugs are all aimed at increasing your muscle mass or power,” Mansingh said. “All of them put a strain on the heart and other vital organs of your body such that they can shorten your life.”

Additionally, Shirley says that given the perception that others may have of some countries regarding how clean their athletes are, participation could lead to financial consequences, particularly in athletics, missing out on lucrative moneymaking meets such as the Diamond League.

“Because the Olympics comes once every four years and the World Championships every other year, you make your money lucratively on things like the Diamond League. In an atmosphere like that, even if you get some money to attend those games, you are going to be in some trouble when it comes to getting national representation and also going on the Diamond League and all of those things,” Shirley said. “For you to get into those meets, you can’t afford to have the guys say, ‘I really don’t want to touch that person because it is going to impact negatively on my meet’. “

While World Athletics has yet to make a statement about the Enhanced Games, Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association president Garth Gayle said that the world body will be the guiding principle for them regarding the matter.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com