We must stop Enhanced Games, says Aussie crusader
Jaimie Fuller, a long-time advocate for sporting justice, felt compelled to act after timid responses from global powers to Enhanced Games.
"We have got to do something," Fuller told AAP.
"We can't just sit back and say 'Let it run its course' because its course doesn't end in a really good place."
Fuller has enlisted "key influencers, particularly in the swimming world" to target companies considering linking with Enhanced Games with what he described as a pre-emptive warning.
"This is one hell of a toxic environment - and you really need to think carefully before attaching your name to this," Fuller said.
Enhanced Games, a multi-sports event without drug testing, was launched in Las Vegas last month by Australian entrepreneur and founder Aron D'Souza.
With the backing of multi-billionaires among others, the inaugural games will be held in May next year with Australian swimmer James Magnussen the first athlete signed.
Dual Australian Olympian and renowned coach Brett Hawke has also joined as Enhanced Games' head swim coach.
D'Souza wants to push sporting boundaries while using the event as a shop window for an enhancements industry potentially worth trillions.
"This is purely a cynical commercial play from them," Fuller said.
"This is not a bunch of billionaires and VCs (venture capitalists) who have decided, 'We have this philosophical desire to understand the lengths that a human can go to'.
"That is complete and utter bollocks.
"This is about the marketing campaign. This is a launch campaign.
"And I have got to tell you, if you didn't care about ethics, integrity, morals or anything like that, it's a really interesting approach.
"Because they've got a heck of a lot of eyeballs very quickly on their website."
Fuller, who has fought cycling over doping and FIFA corruption among other battles, is the former chairman of sports gear manufacturer Skins, and remains particularly connected with swimming via his tech company eo.
"The danger is, and I can tell you from first-hand experience, I know coaches who have already had conversations with their swimmers saying, 'This looks really interesting' and 'I'd love to know how much better I could be by taking these performance enhancing drugs'," he said.
"This is already happening."
And happening while world sport has taken a head-in-sand approach.
"I went and spoke to a bunch of key influencers and was bitterly disappointed by the amount of knock-backs," Fuller said.
"I wanted to get others to sign up to our campaign.
"We're building an integrity wall, where people can sign up, put their photo up and put their name on it.
"And trying to get these guys to do it is difficult.
"The ones that have communicated openly with me, it's primarily about, 'We don't want to give these bastards any more oxygen'."
Fuller understood that argument.
"But at the end of the day, if we don't come out against this, then it's going to trickle on," he said.
"And frankly, my ultimate objective here is to send a message to sponsors, advertisers and broadcasters."
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