Olympic swimmer Hunter Armstrong to compete in doping-friendly Enhanced Games

Swimmer Hunter Armstrong won Olympic gold as part of the American 4x100-meter medley relay at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Now, he’ll compete in the doping-friendly Enhanced Games in May.

Armstrong, who said he hopes to maintain his eligibility for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, confirmed his plans to ESPN on Tuesday.

The Enhanced Games are a planned Olympic alternative that allows — but does not require — athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs prior to the competition. The event will offer a $250,000 prize to its winners, along with a salary and bonuses for competitors who break a world record.

Armstrong previously held the world record in the 50-meter backstroke. He sees the event as a win-win.

“If I don’t join Enhanced, I lose everything. If I do join Enhanced, I have a chance at not losing everything,” Armstrong told ESPN, noting that he struggled to pay bills after losing his primary sponsor last year. “My back was against the wall, so I had to reopen that conversation to see if it was a plausible option.”

The Ohio native plans to swim in the 50-meter backstroke and 100-meter freestyle at the Enhanced Games, which will be held at Resorts World Las Vegas.

World Aquatics originally said it would ban anyone who participated in or supported the Enhanced Games. However, Armstrong told ESPN that he believes he’d still be eligible for the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships as long as he continues to follow the organization’s drug-testing policy.

“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen, and nobody will give me an answer on what’s going to happen,” Armstrong, who won a silver medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said. “So all I can work off of is what the rules say and take a chance because I won’t get an answer by waiting.”

A handful of former Olympians have joined the Enhanced Games, including swimmers Ben Proud, James Magnussen, Megan Romano and Andriy Govorov. American sprinter Fred Kerley is also slated to compete.

Magnussen, who was previously retired, said on the “Hello Sport” podcast that he would “juice to the gills” to break a record at the Enhanced Games.

“Humans are wired to want to see the fastest man or woman. …” Enhanced Games co-founder Christian Angermayer told Forbes. “They don’t want to see the fastest natural man.”