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Two-time gold medalist Hunter Armstrong has become the latest Olympian to announce his intention to compete in the Enhanced Games later this year, and he will do so without the help of performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong, a 25-year-old two-time Olympian and Ohio native, told ESPN that he intends to compete in the Olympic-style games next May without using banned substances. He explained that his decision was ultimately financial.
Hunter Armstrong swims the 100-meter freestyle during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, 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 of not losing everything,” Armstrong said, explaining that to continue swimming he decided to compete. “My back was against the wall, so I had to reopen this 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, he had to find a new way to continue swimming. The Enhanced Games are set to take place in Las Vegas, where rewards of up to $1 million are on offer.
But World Aquatics, the sport’s governing body, proposed an amendment to its statutes last year that would ban any athlete from competing in the enhanced Games.
“Those who promote doped sport are not welcome at World Aquatics or our events,” its president Husain al-Musallam said in a statement after the June decision. The new rule states that anyone “supports, endorses or participates in sporting events that utilize scientific advancements or other practices that may include prohibited substances and/or methods.”
Caeleb Dressel of Team USA, Jack Alexy, Chris Guiliano and Hunter Armstrong before the men’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay final on the first day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Arène de Paris La Défense in Nanterre, France, July 27, 2024. (Xavier Lainé/Getty Images)
However, Armstrong told ESPN that after consulting with lawyers, he believed he would still be eligible to compete if he maintained drug testing and followed the governing body’s rules and regulations. But he didn’t receive a definitive answer before making the decision to compete.
“No one really knows what’s going to happen, and no one’s going to give me an answer about what’s going to happen,” he said. “So all I can do is what the rules say and take my chances, because I won’t get an answer by waiting.”
Hunter Armstrong of Team USA prepares to compete in the men’s 50 meter backstroke final on day eight of the FINA World Championships Budapest 2022 at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary, June 25, 2022. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
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A World Aquatics spokesperson told ESPN that the organization would 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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