‘Imagine if a 60-year-old broke Usain Bolt’s record’: the story behind the Enhanced Games, the Olympics where everyone dopes
![‘Imagine if a 60-year-old broke Usain Bolt’s record’: the story behind the Enhanced Games, the Olympics where everyone dopes](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1938ba098c7fca7f6da498bf00a28ca4d6daf601/0_544_8122_4873/master/8122.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5db191fd3bda7279288d57067b631413)
It’s got billionaires, world champions and director Ridley Scott on board. But would an athletics competition where taking drugs is encouraged put the honesty back in sport – or cause rifts, risks and addictions?
It’s summer 2025. A large athletics stadium somewhere in Europe buzzes with crowds of people. Down on the track, eight men line up for the 100m final. Eight men pumped full of performance-enhancing drugs. Up in the control room, director Ridley Scott is asking for closeups on their faces. One of these men is about to obliterate Usain Bolt’s 100m world record, which has stood for over 15 years. Perhaps they all are. It’s certainly possible: just the day before, a host of men ran the marathon in under two hours. The world record for the mile, which has stood for over a quarter of a century, has just been beaten by a guy with bionic implants in his legs. Out in the centre field, a javelin thrower wearing AI glasses with real-time decision support has secured another world record. The feats of the previous year’s Paris Olympics are long forgotten amid this celebration of human achievement.
“It promises to be one of the most compelling television events of all time,” says Aron D’Souza, the man behind the Enhanced Games. His idea is an alternative to the Olympics where performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and even technological enhancements, are not banned but actively encouraged. It will be a battle of the biohacked.
Continue reading...Date: |
Filter
-
The Guardian - World
Oldest known picture story is a 51,000-year-old Indonesian cave painting
New dating technique finds painting on island of Sulawesi is 6,000 years older than previous record holder. The world’s oldest known picture story is a cave painting almost 6,000 years older than the previous record holder, found about 10km away ... -
ABC News - World
Missing nuts and bolts caused last year's deadly construction elevator accident in Sweden
A construction elevator that killed five people when it collapsed last year in Stockholm was missing the bolts that were supposed to hold its mast together -
The New York Times - Sports
The Moment That Nearly Broke Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2024
Ronaldo was left in floods of tears midway through Portugal’s narrow win over Slovenia at Euro 2024. -
MarketWatch - Business
In 99% of the U.S., homes became less affordable this year. Here are the 7 places where they didn’t.
Housing prices have hit a new high, making it tougher for prospective buyers to afford a home in most places in the U.S., Attom Data Solutions said in a new report. -
Financial Times - World
The untold story of the most chaotic Nato summit ever
Told by the people who witnessed the 2018 Trump show first hand -
CBS News - Top stories
Man found guilty of murder as a hate crime in death of Blaze Bernstein
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for just one day. -
ABC News - Sports
Shohei Ohtani joins Aaron Judge among starters in MLB All-Star Game, the only holdovers from last year's lineups
Shohei Ohtani joins Aaron Judge among starters in MLB All-Star Game, the only holdovers from last year's lineupsMLB -
Los Angeles Times - Entertainment
D.W. Griffith stoked racism with 'Birth of a Nation.' A playwright imagines what happened next
"Unbroken Blossoms" at L.A.'s East West Players explores the complicated history of the film director's follow-up, including the hiring of Chinese consultants to help a white actor play a Chinese man. -
BBC News - Top stories
Where has the UK's summer gone?
It's been a return to cooler and wetter weather following late June's spell of heat. Can we expect the return of anything warmer soon? -
The Wall Street Journal - World
'Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot' Review: Fostering Kindness
From the same studio as 2023’s ‘Sound of Freedom,’ this drama stars Nika King and Demetrius Grosse as a Texas woman and her pastor husband trying to find adoptive homes for over 70 kids—a task that is no child’s game in their hardscrabble community.
More from The Guardian
-
The Guardian - World
Polls open across the UK as millions head out to vote - general election 2024 live
Polling stations are open across the country from 7am with voting taking place until 10pm on Thursday night. What time will we know who won? Guide to the nightConstituency finder and how boundaries have changedIt is the King’s duty as head of ...United Kingdom -
The Guardian - World
Governors admit worries but rally behind Biden after meeting: ‘We have his back’
President meets with Democratic governors for ‘candid’ talks as he seeks to reassure his party and the public. A group of leading Democratic governors offered words of support for Joe Biden on Wednesday as pressure mounted on the president to ...Joe Biden -
The Guardian - World
Israel-Gaza war live: Israel studying new Hamas response to ceasefire proposal
Mediators including Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying for months to secure a ceasefire and the release of 120 remaining hostages. Read all our Israel-Gaza coverage AP has reported on how the daily exchanges of strikes between ...Israel -
The Guardian - World
Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada
Jamaican PM says worst is yet to come as category 4 storm hits southern coast after causing at least seven deaths in region. Why Hurricane Beryl foretells a scary storm seasonHurricane Beryl has hit Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” trail ... -
The Guardian - World
French PM says ‘no place for violence and intimidation’ after candidate attacked putting up election posters – Europe live
Gabriel Attal said candidate Prisca Thevenot and members of her campaign team were attacked by four individuals. Marine Le Pen has said that there are unacceptable comments from some National Rally candidates which will lead to sanctions but that ...