Enhanced Games are dangerous and must be stopped, says Wada head

Witold Banka: ‘It is irresponsible. I hope it will not happen’

Thu, 30 Oct, 2025 - 19:47

Paul MacInnes

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency has called on US anti-doping authorities to act to stop the Enhanced Games, describing the new event – which allows athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs in competition - as “dangerous” and “irresponsible”.

Witold Banka said the world’s anti-doping regimes had to be “very united” in their opposition to the Enhanced Games and said Usada had a responsibility to push against it. Banka went on to criticise the anti-doping regime in the US, at a time when the US government has withheld crucial funding from Wada’s operations.

“Sometimes we don’t know what to say about this ridiculous idea, because from the ethical point of view, from the moral point of view, how is it possible that people come to agree to compete, taking all these prohibited substances?” Banka said.

“It’s completely against everything that we are doing. It’s very dangerous. I hope it will not happen, although there are quite important and rich people who are sponsors of this irresponsible event.”

Banka said anti-doping authorities had to be “very strong” in their opposition to the Games. “I think we have to be very united”, he said. “We really want our colleagues from the US to do more to make sure that this event will not happen. There are some legal possibilities they can lobby for. Usada have made general comments, but maybe it’s time to try and convince the people who have financed this that it’s dangerous. That’s [Usada’s] role and responsibility because the event is going to take place in Las Vegas.”

The Enhanced Games is scheduled to take place next year at Resorts World in Nevada, with events in swimming, athletics and weightlifting. Marketing itself as “pioneering a new era in athletic competition that embraces scientific advancements to push the boundaries of human performance”, it is backed by funding from an investment group that includes Donald Trump Jr. The event has attracted global headlines and opprobrium in equal measure because of its approach towards PEDs and the $250,000 (€216k) rewards offered to athletes for breaking world records, with $1m (€846k) on offer in 50m Freestyle Swimming and 100m sprint.

The head of Usada, Travis Tygart, has previously called the Enhanced Games “a clown show”, but has also been heavily critical of Wada. In the aftermath of the controversy involving 23 Chinese swimmers, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics despite recording positive drug tests, Tygart said that Wada had “accepted China can play by its own set of rules”. An independent review later found no evidence of bias towards China in Wada’s response. Tygart also supported a decision by the US government to withold funding from Wada earlier this year, saying it was “the only right choice to protect athletes’ rights and fair competition”.

Speaking in London on Thursday, Banka said Wada was “very keen” to work with Usada but that “it has to be based on mutual respect”. He then went on to criticise the US anti-doping regime, noting that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code.

“When we see anti-doping in US, the problem is that this is far from perfect system”, Banka said. “Almost 90% of US athletes are not competing under the world anti-doping code. [Elsewhere] only 308 samples were collected in the six months after the Olympics in 2024. Ask yourself if [the US system] is robust or it requires improvement. Is there a great anti-doping programme in the strongest sporting nation in the world?

“China was a fair decision and was used in the US against Wada to destroy its image”, Banka went on. “This is politicisation. There is zero evidence that there was something wrong on Wada’s side. My wish is that instead of politicisation and attacking us, the time is used to address the gaps and strengthen the anti-doping system in the US.”

Guardian