(ESP-ENG) ¿Sabes qué son los Enhanced Games? - [Opinión]
Hello friends, good vibes to all.
Sports are becoming more competitive every day, and we can see this in the Olympic Games themselves, where it seems world records are becoming more accessible. An athlete's glory lies in achieving those triumphs through hard work, dedication, hours of training, and sacrifice; there must be nothing more rewarding than winning an Olympic medal, and if it's by beating a previous record, even better, after having spent months and years under strict training. Why am I telling you this? Because these Games I'm presenting to you today have come to dismantle that entire narrative, and I don't know how much harm it could do to clean sport.
The Enhanced Games are the so-called "doping Olympics," which will take place next year in Las Vegas. You might think there's just no madman behind this, but the truth is, there's a lot of money involved. Among the investors are the co-founder of PayPal, a former Coinbase executive, and, most importantly, the son of US President Donald Trump Jr. There are people who have worked with Nike, Real Madrid, former directors of Olympic committees, and even former Olympic athletes. It's clear that this isn't just any old thing and that there's a clear objective behind it: to compete head-to-head with the Olympic Games, if that's even possible.
Seeing what they're looking for, one can already deduce that the motivation for athletes who end up entering this world will be purely economic. Just for competing, they'll be given $500,000, and if they break a world record, the bonus will be $1 million, infinitely more than what the International Olympic Committee awards. In fact, a record has already been broken by Kristian Gkolomeev in the 50-meter freestyle swimming race, clocking 20.89 seconds, but the World Aquatics Federation hasn't even bothered to check it. What do I think this will end up being? A spectacle, a show run by people with money to entertain. It's well known that those with a lot of capital tend to do whatever they want.
There can't be pride in competing in something like this. What's the point of doping, improving your performance, strength, and endurance, and then getting into a pool and swimming a few hundredths of a second below it, thanks to the drugs? Exactly, none. The roster of athletes isn't complete yet, but I'd find it hard to believe that someone who's already experienced the Olympic Games would be willing to do this unless they've been through the frustration of never having won anything, as is the case with this Greek swimmer. But we know that silver is the price of gold. Is it possible for an athlete to trade Olympic glory for a significant sum of money, should they need it? That's where one of the many debates lies.
There won't just be swimming events; I understand we'll also see athletics and weightlifting. I'm one of those who thinks everyone is free to do whatever they want with their lives, and in this case, their bodies. If there are people who want to participate in these things, then let them. What they can't do is match the clean athletes who, despite everything described above, manage to lower their records; they're not equal and never will be. Let them create a list of Enhanced World Records and compete against each other, but it's a monumental absurdity to want to be on par with the Olympic Games.
In short, people with money generally get tired of living life by established standards and turn to eccentricities and doing the unthinkable simply because they can. These games are a reflection of that: people with money who don't know what to do with it. Honestly, I don't see a future for this in the slightest. It's something that's generating a lot of buzz, but that's because of the moral and medical issues behind it, not because it poses a real threat to sports as we know it. We must always remember that nothing is done for the love of art; behind the scenes, this has to be about generating much more money than it's invested, which, for me, is the true driving force and reason for all of this.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!
Well, that's all for today, friends. I hope you enjoyed it.
¡Hugs to everyone, see you next time!