Cam McEvoy Mocks Enhanced Games After Swimmer Breaks His World Record

Australian world record-breaking swimmer Cam McEvoy has had a clear dig at the inaugural Enhanced Games.

Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev went under McEvoy’s 50m freestyle world record time at the Games, held on Monday in Las Vegas. Gkolomeev also won the 100m freestyle, while Australia’s James “The Missile” Magnussen finished last out of four swimmers in the two races. That prompted a social media post from McEvoy, who broke the official 50m world mark in March, which read: “Seriously?! That’s all you got!”

The controversial Enhanced Games and their pro-doping ethos have been widely denounced by world sporting authorities.

Gkolomeev clocked 20.81sec, bettering the 20.88 world mark set by McEvoy. But the time will not count because he took banned substances. He was also wearing a race suit long banned by swimming authorities. It was the only sub world-record time set at the Games, which promotes performance-enhancing drugs.

Gkolomeev won a $US1m ($A1.39m) bonus for going under the world record time. The 50m freestyle was the last event on the Games programme. While Gkolomeev’s time will not be official, it was met with celebration at the Games. “I’m going to say it’s not bad at all,” Gkolomeev said of the prize money. “This is going to change my life to the good, for sure. ⁠And yeah, I’m going to continue next year. Maybe I’ll break it again.”

While Gkolomeev dominated, it was a disappointing event for Australia’s only competitor. The 35-year-old Magnussen, the first athlete signed to the Enhanced Games, finished last in the 50m and 100m freestyle.

Magnussen clocked 22.35sec for the 50m and 49.44 for the 100, outside the personal-best times he set more than a decade ago in the two events. Gklolomeev won the 100m in 46.6, just outside the world record time of 46.4 set by China’s Pan Zhanle at the Paris Olympics.

The financial lure was substantial for Magnussen, a two-time Olympian and dual 100m freestyle world champion who retired from swimming in 2018, until the arrival of Enhanced Games. The performance-enhancing drugs being taken by Magnussen and other athletes are being marketed and sold by The Enhanced Group.