Olympic bronze medalist first track athlete to join controversial Enhanced Games

Olympic 100m silver and bronze medalist Fred Kerley will compete in the inaugural Enhanced Games set for 24 May 2026 in Las Vegas, an announcement made on the back of his suspension for whereabouts failure.

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The event permits athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in official competition with organisers maintaining that the Games could help transform sports science as it bucks global anti-doping norms, while critics term it dangerous to athletes’ health.

“I’m looking forward to this new chapter and competing at the Enhanced Games,” Kerley says. “The world record has always been the ultimate goal of my career. This now gives me the opportunity to dedicate all my energy to pushing my limits and becoming the fastest human to ever live."

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Should Kerley run quicker than Usain Bolt's 100m record of 9.58 seconds, he would receive approximately Ksh128.6 Million (£730,000) in prize money from the Enhanced Games.

Until his provisional suspension, Kerley had struggled to impress in recent competitions.

His accomplishments on track include, a two-time Olympic medalist in the 100m, earning a silver at the Tokyo Games and a bronze at the 2024 Paris Games.

He also claimed the 100m gold medal at the 2022 World Championships. Kerley has won multiple relay medals at the World Championships and is one of only three men in history to have run sub-10 seconds in the 100m, sub-20 seconds in the 200m, and sub-44 seconds in the 400m.

The first non-swimmer, and first American to enlist, joins several elite swimmers who already signed on for the competition, including the Olympic silver medalist Ben Proud, the first Briton to sign on.

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“Fred’s choice to compete with us not only demonstrates our goal of hosting the most exciting athletic competitions out there, but also solidifies the growing appeal of the Enhanced Games as the future of elite sporting competition,” the Enhanced Games chief executive, Maximilian Martin, said.