Latest news with #EnhancedGames'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French kisses: Fencer beats doping allegations with an unusual contamination explanation
French fencer Ysaora Thibus, shown in 2022, was cleared of doping charges after it was determined that kissing introduced a banned substance into her system. (Devin Manky / Getty Images) French fencing champion Ysaora Thibus was not to blame after she tested positive for a banned substance last year. The culprit? Nine days of contaminated kisses. That is what the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled this week when it dismissed an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had been seeking a four-year ban for the 2022 world champion in women's foil after the prohibited anabolic substance ostarine was found in her blood during a January 2024 blood test. Advertisement The CAS said in a news release Monday that it accepted Thibus' explanation that the ostarine had entered her bloodstream because her then-partner had been using a product containing the substance without her knowledge. The two had exchanged bodily fluids through kissing. Read more: Steroids? Sure! Doping? Bring it on! 'Enhanced Games' push to be the Olympics* — with drugs The evidence "scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms. Thibus' then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing," the court said. "The Panel also accepted that Ms Thibus' then partner was taking ostarine from 5 January 2024, and that there was contamination over 9 days with a cumulative effect." The court concluded that Thibus had not intentionally violated the rules. "It is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence," the news release states. Advertisement Thibus had maintained her innocence throughout the process. Joelle Montlouis, one of the fencer's attorneys, told French news outlet L'Equipe that the ruling was a "great victory" for her client. 'She showed remarkable courage and held firm, against all odds, until the end of the procedure," Montlouis said in French, translated via software. "At no time did we deviate from our course: From the first instance to the CAS, we maintained the same line, the same backbone, faithful to the reality of the facts.' Read more: Lopez: Three years away from the Olympics, L.A. is tripping over hurdles and trying to play catchup Ostarine was detected in Thibus' blood during an in-competition check by the International Testing Agency at a fencing event Jan. 14, 2024, in Paris. Advertisement The agency initially charged Thibus with an anti-doping rule violation, but an International Fencing Federation tribunal later cleared her and allowed her to compete in the Paris Olympics, where she was eliminated after the second round of competition. WADA, the anti-doping agency, rejected Thibus' kissing explanation and appealed the ITA decision in July 2024. The arbitration court held an in-person hearing in March before making its ruling. In a somewhat similar case in 2009, WADA and the International Tennis Federation appealed to have Richard Gasquet serve a two-year ban after testing positive for cocaine. But the arbitration court ruled in the French tennis player's favor, accepting his explanation that he inadvertently consumed the drug — which was present in a "minute" amount, the CAS said — by kissing a woman at a nightclub. 'I'm absolutely relieved," Gasquet said at the time. "This is the end of a crazy story.' Advertisement The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Advertiser
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
We must stop Enhanced Games, says Aussie crusader
An Australian crusader for clean sport is launching a campaign against Enhanced Games, describing the drug-friendly event as "utter bollocks". 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." An Australian crusader for clean sport is launching a campaign against Enhanced Games, describing the drug-friendly event as "utter bollocks". 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." An Australian crusader for clean sport is launching a campaign against Enhanced Games, describing the drug-friendly event as "utter bollocks". 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."
West Australian
24-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
We must stop Enhanced Games, says Aussie crusader
An Australian crusader for clean sport is launching a campaign against Enhanced Games, describing the drug-friendly event as "utter bollocks". 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."
Perth Now
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
We must stop Enhanced Games, says Aussie crusader
An Australian crusader for clean sport is launching a campaign against Enhanced Games, describing the drug-friendly event as "utter bollocks". 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."
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
World Aquatics to ban participants of controversial Enhanced Games
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev is one of the names involved in the new competition. - Enhanced Ltd. World Aquatics, the governing body for all aquatic sports, has introduced a new rule that will ban those who participate in the controversial Enhanced Games. The Enhanced Games says it is an 'alternative' to the Olympics and will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. Participants will not be tested and will be under no obligation to declare which substances they have taken in order to compete. Advertisement The inaugural games will take place in May 2026 and include events from swimming, weightlifting and athletics. On Tuesday, World Aquatics released a statement introducing the new bylaw, which will be in effect immediately. 'Under the new Bylaw, individuals who support, endorse, or participate in sporting events that embrace the use of scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods will not be eligible to hold positions with World Aquatics or to participate in any World Aquatics competitions, events, or other activities,' the federation said in a statement. 'This ineligibility would apply to roles such as athlete, coach, team official, administrator, medical support staff, or government representative.' Advertisement World Aquatics added that it would ban people on a case-by-case basis, while also encouraging federations at a national level to adopt a similar stance. 'Those who enable doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,' said World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam. 'This new Bylaw ensures that we can continue to protect the integrity of our competitions, the health and safety of our athletes, and the credibility of the global aquatics community.' In response to the ban, Enhanced Games' president and founder Aron D'Souza said his organization stands with 'athletes and their support teams.' Advertisement 'At the Enhanced Games, athletes have what traditional federations never gave them: choice, fairness, and real money,' he said in a statement sent to CNN Sports. Kristian Gkolomeev has already gone under the current world record in the men's 50m - Enhanced Ltd. 'We offer a medically supervised, safety-focused, science-driven arena – where performance is rewarded, not policed by outdated ideology. 'This ban isn't about protecting athletes. It's about protecting a monopoly.' Since the start of the controversial program, Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev swam the men's 50 meters freestyle in 20.89 seconds, shaving 0.02 seconds off the long-standing world record, per Reuters Gkolomeev finished fifth in the same event at the Paris Olympics last year. Advertisement But the competition has been widely criticized, including by those from a health perspective. Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, who exposed Russia's state-sponsored doping program – a massive, years-long effort which benefited more than 1,000 athletes between 2011 and 2015 – previously said that the new event is a 'danger to health, to sport.' Similarly, Travis Tygart, the CEO at the United States Anti-Doping Agency, previously told CNN Sports that the concept was 'a dangerous clown show, not real sport.' In the statement sent to CNN Sports Wednesday, the Enhanced Games said: 'Our mission is to protect and improve athlete well-being for those pushing the limits of human performance, and we have extensive safeguards in place to ensure we uphold this value.' For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
