By Matt Hardy
Swimmer James Magnussen, the first athlete to sign up for the Enhanced Games, admits that a $1m prize was the “tipping point” to agreeing to take part in the so-called doped Olympics but insists his decision was not just about money.
Magnussen, a former world champion and Olympic medallist, is coming out of retirement to compete in the Enhanced Games, the brainchild of London-based Australian Aron D’Souza and backed by PayPal founder Peter Thiel which has promised him $1m if he breaks the 50m freestyle world record.
“Anyone that comes out and says that the money is not a factor would be lying,” he told City A.M. “So money is definitely a factor. And that was probably the tipping point when they said: ‘Yes, $1m.’
“That’s the tipping point but the pursuit of this faster swim is very, very enticing to me and very exciting. And it’s given me a bit of a new lease of life.”
Added Magnussen: “Money plays a part but one of the biggest factors for me is, as a swimmer you have quite a short lifespan.
“I often speak to other athletes my age or older and we all say the same thing: ‘Imagine if we could put that current head on our 20-year-old shoulders’. The experience and the wealth of knowledge that you have as a mature athlete or person would be invaluable to a young athlete.
“So the pursuit of this faster swimming history is as much of a carrot to dangle for me as $1m.”
Controversial Enhanced Games
Concerns have been raised over how far athletes might go in pursuit of success at the Enhanced Games – pencilled in to take place for the first time next year – and Magnussen has previously said he’d “juice to the gills”, although he now says he was exaggerating.
The 32-year-old also insists that he will not take any illegal steroids in pursuit of the world record, sticking instead to performance enhancing substances that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“As far as being a guinea pig, all of the substances are already out there being used for medicinal purposes,” he added.
“Anything that I take will be FDA approved and prescribed by a doctor and has a given medical purpose and is already being used in the anti ageing space, in the performance space, and other athletes have been using these things over the years. They’re all banned in sport, but not necessarily illegal in general society.”
Magnussen is set to be one of the stars of a new documentary following preparations for the Enhanced Games to be made by Ridley Scott Associates and Wrexham owner Rob McElhenney’s More Better Productions.
He said: “I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’m really excited to be a part of this documentary and opening people’s eyes to the world of performance enhancement and what is available and how it can be done safely.”
