'Financially this is a huge thing': Shane Ryan defends decision to join Enhanced Games

Ryan said he will earn 'over six figures' in the next nine months, an amount which could rise to $600,000 should he win his events.

Tue, 14 Oct, 2025 - 19:55

PJ Browne

Shane Ryan said his decision to participate in the Enhanced Games, where competitors will be allowed to take performance-enhancing drugs, is a financially driven one.

It was announced on Monday that the three-time Irish Olympic swimmer has been recruited to join the Games which will take place in Las Vegas next May.

Ryan’s decision was condemned by Swim Ireland, Sport Ireland, and the Olympic Federation of Ireland. The organisers had initially reached out to Ryan over a year ago but he declined their offer as he was still competing for Ireland. Last week, the 31-year-old announced he would be stepping away from competitive swimming.

“If I try to go for the next Olympic Games, I'll be 34 years old,” Ryan told RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime show. “My shoulders and body would not probably hold up as well. I had to take a step back, and kind of reconsider.

“When I step out into the real world financially, what do I have? Sadly, Olympic athletes do not get paid well at all.

“It is a financial decision but also an opportunity for me to be part of something that's new and exciting.

I was on €18,000 for a number of years and trying to compete and train. Trying to have a job doing that, especially with swimming, is very, very difficult.

“That's below minimum wage, especially in Ireland. I was living in Dublin for a very, very long time representing Ireland for over a decade and sacrificed friends and family, missing weddings.”

'Throwing a little bit away'

Ryan, who does not believe he is doing anything ethically wrong by joining the Enhanced Games, admitted regarding his legacy that it does feel like he is “throwing a little bit away”.

“I think I did a very good job in doing clinics around the country, trying to support the future generation of Irish swimming and sport,” he said.

“What I need to do now is actually put myself first. Financially, I'm making over six figures for nine months and then potentially making over $600,000 when it comes down the line.

“I'm going to be doing two events, the 100 free and the 50 back in May, and if I win one of those events, I get $250,000. Then if I win both of those, that's a half a million dollars on top of what I'm earning right now. For me, as an athlete that's 31 years old, this is like kind of a jumpstart financially.

“Financially this is a huge thing. I've honed a craft for my whole life and I want to take the opportunity. I've talked to a lot of people that are actually outside the swimming world that are super excited. They're like, 'Shane, you'd be stupid not to take this opportunity'.“

Ryan said that he will “always 100% support clean athletes competing for the Olympic Games” but believes the World Anti-Doping Agency is not doing enough to uncover the athletes who are taking drugs.

Testosterone, human growth hormone and EPO are among the prohibited substances which Ryan believes he could end up taking. He is also willing to accept the potentially harmful physical consequences of doping.

'I'm a clean athlete'

“Everyone thinks that once I join the Enhanced Games that I'm taking drugs - I'm not. I'm a clean athlete still right now.

“We're here in Las Vegas until December and we are training completely clean. When it comes down to January to March, we're going to Abu Dhabi to do a case study, a test, where we'll be only on it for maybe at most two months, but everyone's different.

“There's always a chance that it could potentially affect [my body] in the wrong way but I'm willing to accept that choice and accept that consequence, potentially, if it does.

"We already have two lads that have already done it. We have such an amazing staff here with years and years of experience on it. We're doing this in a very safe manner. We're being transparent about it as well. “