Doping could be coming to the world of sports, in the form of the Enhanced Games, where athletes are allowed to use substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Founder and President Aron D'Souza said he wanted to create a sporting event that disrupts the Olympics. - REUTERS
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00:00 Doping could be coming to the world of sports
00:03 in the form of the enhanced games,
00:06 where athletes are allowed to use substances
00:08 banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency
00:11 or technological assistance
00:13 to achieve the best results they can.
00:15 Founder and President Aaron D'Souza
00:18 said he wanted to create a sporting event
00:20 that disrupts the Olympic Games.
00:23 We want athletes who have the potential
00:24 to break world records,
00:25 and we're going to really focus on those best athletes
00:28 and pay them well and give them the opportunity
00:31 to push the limits of humanity.
00:33 D'Souza landed a major coup
00:35 when retired world champion swimmer James Magnussen
00:38 agreed to take banned performance-enhancing drugs
00:41 to make an attempt at beating Cesar Chielo's
00:44 15-year-old 50-metre sprint world record
00:47 for $1 million.
00:49 And last month, D'Souza announced
00:51 that he had attracted big-name investors,
00:54 including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel,
00:56 tech investor Christian Angemeyer,
00:58 and former Coinbase chief technology officer
01:01 Balaji Srinivasan.
01:03 D'Souza's vision is for athletes to compete for themselves
01:06 and not their countries.
01:08 Exactly when and where D'Souza's vision will be realised
01:12 remains very much in the planning stage.
01:15 He stresses the enhanced games
01:17 would not be a complete doping free-for-all.
01:20 What we're doing is destigmatising
01:22 performance enhancements,
01:24 and so I think a much better outcome
01:26 will be to do this all out in the open,
01:28 honestly, under clinical supervision.
01:31 And that's what we always underline,
01:32 clinical supervision.
01:33 And so we're taking something out of the darkness
01:36 and shining light upon it.
01:37 Not everyone is convinced
01:39 about the enhanced games, though.
01:41 US anti-doping agency CEO Travis Tigott
01:45 previously described it as a dangerous clown show.
01:48 In a statement to Reuters,
01:50 the International Olympic Committee said
01:52 the idea of the enhanced games
01:54 does not merit any comment.
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