Doping-approved games receive massive financial boost ahead of first-ever event in 2025
Aron D’Souza, the man behind the doping-enthused Enhanced Games, has revealed he received millions of dollars in financial backing for his entrepreneurial idea a year and a half before his first planned Games in 2025.
As per the Canadian Running Magazine, D’Souza revealed that German-American billionaire and co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, has invested a “single-digit million-dollar number” into the Enhanced Games.
He disclosed that Thiel isn’t the only investor on board since cryptocurrency investor and billionaire Christian Angermayer and Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of crypto exchange Coinbase, have also invested in his idea.
Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya WhatsApp Channel for more news.
Meanwhile, D’Souza wants to provide an alternative to what organizers perceive as a ‘corrupt Olympics’ and he openly criticizes the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its alleged exploitation of athletes, lack of payment of athletes, and rejection of “enhanced” world records.
On their website, they openly speak about using science and focusing on core sports, aiming to break world records and ensure fair compensation for athletes.
They insist that performance-enhancing drugs, when used responsibly, can significantly enhance training outcomes and allow athletes to reach their full potential.
This is going to change sport as we know it @enhanced_games is the future. Like UFC there’ll be an initial fight back by some and then it’ll blow up. Sport needs honesty, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s progress. #enhancedgames pic.twitter.com/7qQVZHMDjx
— Ben Bell (@Benzooki) February 1, 2024
“The Olympic Games are this ancient model reinvented by a colonialist aristocrat in 1896 for the Victorian world.
“We need to design a modernized Games for social media [like TikTok and Instagram] and broadcast television for short attention spans,” he added.
The Enhanced Games will focus on a limited number of events that are of high interest, like track and field, and swimming.
“The core focus of the Games is breaking world records. We only want athletes who have the potential to break world records in sports that actually matter. And so by having a much narrower set (of events), we can deliver much more cost-effectively,” he said.
Speaking about the prize money, the Enhanced Games competitors will be paid a base rate for competing, with bonuses for winning events and setting world records.
“We anticipate there’ll be multi-million-dollar prize pools for breaking world records. We have to create real incentives for athletes to jump ship from this very established prestigious system,” he added.