Wada calls on US to stop ‘dangerous' Enhanced Games
LOS ANGELES : World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) chief Witold Banka has called on US authorities to prevent the drug-fuelled Enhanced Games from taking place next year.
Speaking in Lausanne in an address to a meeting of summer Olympic officials, Banka said the inaugural edition of the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas – where athletes will be free to use performance-enhancing drugs – 'must be stopped.'
'We all must stand up and condemn those who put greed and ego before the well-being of athletes and the values of fair competition,' Banka said.
'As the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles approach, we cannot allow what should be a celebration of honest sporting endeavour to be overshadowed by this cynical attempt to undermine clean sport.
'Wada is now urging the authorities in the US to seek ways to prevent the Enhanced Games from going ahead as planned. For the sake of athletes' health and the purity of sport, it must be stopped.'
In separate remarks following the address, Banka urged US authorities to consider legal action to prevent the Enhanced Games from taking place.
'Every effort should be made by the authorities in the US to prevent this dangerous event from going ahead as planned,' Banka said.
'This should be explored from the legal perspective. For example, I would question whether it is legal for licensed doctors to give these potent drugs to healthy athletes.
'It goes completely against the rules and values of their profession…I think there is a strong role to be played by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada)'.
Usada has been a strident critic of Wada in recent years following controversy over the global doping watchdog's handling of positive drug tests from 23 Chinese swimmers in 2021.
Responding to Banka's remarks on Wednesday, Usada chief executive Travis Tygart accused the Wada president of 'attempting to leverage this sideshow to distract from fixing Wada and to stoke anti-American rhetoric.'
'As we have repeatedly said, for all of the obvious reasons, the Enhanced Games or any other open competition is a bad idea,' Tygart said in comments emailed to AFP, urging Banka to accept an invitation to a US Senate hearing next week where the 2021 case involving Chinese swimmers is to be discussed.
The first Enhanced Games will be staged in Las Vegas in May 2026, with athletes participating in three sports – athletics, swimming and weightlifting.
Athletes will be allowed to use drugs banned across international sport such as steroids and human growth hormones, with winners of each event receiving US$250,000, and a bonus of US$1 million for any athlete who breaks a world record.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
9 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Joao Pedro set for Chelsea debut as Palmeiras clash looms in Club World Cup
PHILADELPHIA, July 3 — New signing Joao Pedro could make his debut for Chelsea when they renew acquaintances with Brazilian outfit Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup on Friday. The 23-year-old Brazilian forward completed a move to Chelsea from Brighton and Hove Albion for a reported £60 million (RM345 million) on Wednesday and immediately began training with Enzo Maresca's squad in Miami. That is where they have been preparing for the last eight of the tournament in the United States, before travelling back to Philadelphia on Thursday ahead of the clash with Sao Paulo side Palmeiras. 'I'm very excited to play for Chelsea, to fight for every title, every tournament and play in the Champions League. Hopefully, we win as many trophies as possible,' Joao Pedro told the club's website after putting pen to paper on an eight-year contract. There is the tantalising possibility that a first trophy for the new signing could come in just 10 days' time, if Chelsea go all the way in Fifa's lucrative new competition. The London club beat Palmeiras in the final of the old Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi in early 2022, although none of the players involved for them that day are still there. New owners came in a few months after that success and Chelsea's squad has overgone major changes since, with Joao Pedro just the latest face of many to arrive. He comes from the state of Sao Paulo so is familiar with Palmeiras, Copa Libertadores winners in 2020 and 2021. Joao Pedro also began his career at Fluminense, who they could face in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup — the team from Rio de Janeiro take on Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their last-eight tie. Estevao to face future team Chelsea have already faced Brazilian opposition in Philadelphia at this Club World Cup and lost, but the 3-1 reverse at the hands of Flamengo did not prevent them from progressing beyond their group. Maresca's side then overcame a lengthy storm delay to beat Benfica 4-1 after extra time in Charlotte in the last 16 and make it to the quarter-finals. Joao Pedro will now hope to feature in an attack that has already been reinforced at the Club World Cup with the addition of Liam Delap, the former Ipswich Town striker who scored his first goal for his new team in the 3-0 win over Esperance of Tunisia. Another new attacker will join after the tournament, but teenage winger Estevao Willian will be in the opposition ranks on Friday for a game taking place on the American Fourth of July holiday, in the city where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. Eyebrows were raised when Estevao, who plays principally off the right flank, was substituted by coach Abel Ferreira early in the second half before Palmeiras went on to beat Botafogo in extra time in the last 16. It was his replacement Paulinho who went on to score the winner, but he is experiencing fitness issues and is not expected to start in the quarter-final. That means Estevao, seen as Brazil's most exciting young talent, should line up at kick-off for Palmeiras, who unlike Chelsea have been training in the city where Friday's match will take place. They have been using the facilities of Super Bowl winners the Philadelphia Eagles and will be hoping some of the NFL side's magic rubs off on them. 'The coach has been talking about this since the start of the season,' Palmeiras defender Bruno Fuchs said of his team's Club World Cup bid. 'We have a dream and dreaming does not cost anything.' Palmeiras do have defensive headaches too, however, with centre-back and captain Gustavo Gomez suspended along with left-back Joaquin Piquerez. — AFP
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
US college bans transgender athletes from women's sports in wake of Lia Thomas controversy
WASHINGTON, July 2 — The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to ban transgender athletes from its women's sports teams, settling a federal civil rights case stemming from the furore around swimmer Lia Thomas, the US government said Tuesday. The US Department of Education said in a statement that UPenn had entered into a resolution agreement vowing to comply with Title IX, the federal law which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational programme. It follows an investigation by the department's Office for Civil Rights which found the university had violated Title IX by allowing transgender swimmer Thomas to compete in women's competitions in 2021-2022. US President Donald Trump, who campaigned on the issue of trans athletes, has worked to prohibit them from competing in girls and women's sports since returning to office. Trump issued an executive order in February aimed at banning transgender athletes, allowing federal agencies to halt funding to any institution that does not consider birth-assigned genders in determining sex. US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement on Tuesday the resolution of the UPenn case marked a 'great victory for women and girls ... across our nation.' 'The Department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX's proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law.' Under the terms of the settlement, UPenn will restore all individual swimming records and titles to female athletes affected by Thomas's participation. The university will also send a 'personalised letter of apology' to each swimmer impacted by the case. The college will also be required to issue a public statement specifying it will 'not allow males to compete in female athletic programs' or use Penn Athletics facilities for women, such as locker rooms. Thomas became a lightning rod around the debate of transgender athletes in women's sport after competing in female collegiate competitions in 2022. She had earlier swam on UPenn's men's team while undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Her participation in women's events sparked widespread outrage, with critics and some fellow swimmers saying she should not have been allowed to compete due to an unfair physiological advantage. Her supporters argued she should be allowed to compete as a woman. One of Thomas's competitors, Riley Gaines, welcomed Tuesday's announcement. Gaines has been a long-time critic of Thomas's participation in women's collegiate swimming, and tied for fifth place with her in the 200-yard freestyle at a national collegiate meeting in 2022. 'It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women's civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country's highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve,' Gaines said in a statement. — Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Chelsea agree deal for Dortmund's Gittens
Jamie Gittens has made 107 appearances for the German giants, scoring 17 goals. (AFP pic) LONDON : Chelsea are set to add England under-21 international winger Jamie Gittens to their forward line after agreeing to a deal with Borussia Dortmund, according to reports on Saturday. Sky Sports said an agreement has been reached between the clubs, who are both competing at the Club World Cup in the United States. The Blues will reportedly pay up to €65 million (US$76 million) for the 20-year-old, who had been in Chelsea's academy as a youth player. Gittens eventually moved to Manchester City's academy before signing for Dortmund in 2022. He made 107 appearances for the German giants, scoring 17 goals, 12 of which came in the Bundesliga and Champions League last season. Chelsea were in the market to bolster their wide options after refusing the chance to sign Manchester United's Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal after his loan spell at Stamford Bridge. Mykhailo Mudryk also remains provisionally suspended by the English Football Association after failing a drugs test. Gittens would be Chelsea's fourth signing of the summer, joining striker Liam Delap, midfielder Dario Essugo and defender Mamadou Sarr. Brazilian rising star Estevao Willian, 18, will also join the Premier League giants after his Club World Cup campaign with Palmeiras.
