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Double gold medalist Hunter Armstrong became the latest Olympian to announce plans to compete in the Enhanced Games later this year, and he will do so without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong, the two-time Olympian and 25-year-old Ohio native, told ESPN that he intends to compete in the Olympic Games in May without the use of banned substances. He explained that his decision ultimately came down to a financial one.
Hunter Armstrong swims in the 100-meter freestyle during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 18, 2024. (Robert Goddin/USA TODAY Sports)
“If I don’t join Enhanced, I lose everything. If I join Enhanced, I have a chance to not lose everything,” Armstrong said, explaining that in order to keep swimming, he decided to compete. “My back was against the wall, so I had to reopen that conversation to see if it was a plausible option.”
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Armstrong told the outlet after abruptly losing a major sponsor last year that he had to find a new way to continue swimming. The Enhanced Games will take place in Las Vegas, with prizes of up to $1 million on offer.
But World Aquatics, the sport’s governing body, came out with an amendment to its bylaws last year that would ban any athlete from the sport if they were to compete in the Enhanced Games.
“Those who enable doped sports are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,” its president Husain al-Musallam said in a statement after the decision in June. The new rule says anyone who “endorses, supports or participates in sporting events that include the use of scientific advances or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods.”
Team United States’ Caeleb Dressel, Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano and Hunter Armstrong before the men’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay final on day one of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, on July 27, 2024. (Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
But Armstrong told ESPN that after consulting lawyers, he believes he would still be eligible to compete if he maintains drug testing and follows the governing body’s rules and regulations. But he did not receive a definitive answer before making the decision to compete.
“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen, and nobody’s going to give me an answer to what’s going to happen,” he said. “So the only thing I can work out is what the rules say and take a chance because I’m not going to get an answer by waiting.”
Hunter Armstrong of Team United States prepares to compete in the men’s 50 meter backstroke final on day eight of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on June 25, 2022. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
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A spokesperson for World Aquatics told ESPN that the organization will decide on the new rule on a case-by-case basis.
Several Olympians, including James Magnussen, Ben Proud, Cody Miller and Fred Kerley, will compete in the Enhanced Games.
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