The majority of the 42 athletes taking part used performance-enhancing substances and Enhanced Games said “13 athletes set personal bests”.
The event was played out in front of a curated crowd of around 2,500, with tickets not on sale to the general public.
On the track, American former world champion Fred Kerley – one of the athletes competing ‘clean’ – won the men’s 100m in 9.97 seconds, which was short of his personal best of 9.76.
British swimmer Ben Proud, who won silver in the men’s 50m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, triumphed in the 50m butterfly, clocking 22.32 seconds. That was 0.05secs short of Andrii Govorov’s world record but faster than his personal best – and British record time – of 22.74 seconds.
“We all know what we came for. And that’s world records. And so to be that agonisingly close, it’s frustrating,” Proud said.
Another British Olympic swimmer, Emily Barclay, won the women’s 50m freestyle in 24.09, about half a second slower than the world record.
Weightlifter Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson, who played The Mountain in TV show Game of Thrones, was another taking part but was unable to break his own deadlift record of 510kg.
Drugs used at the Enhanced Games must be legal and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
They include testosterone, growth hormone, peptides, anabolic steroids and other substances banned in sport.
Those behind the event argue enhancement already exists in elite sport, but secretly and without transparency, and say bringing it into the open where it can be monitored makes it safer.
However, many sporting governing bodies have publicly rebuked athletes for choosing to compete in the games and some governing bodies have banned athletes for taking part.
The IOC and Wada have described the Enhanced Games as “immoral” and “a dangerous and irresponsible concept”, while World Athletics president Lord Coe said anyone taking part was “moronic”.
The project was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D’Souza and Maximilian Martin in 2023 and has attracted backing from prominent investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.
Martin had predicted that athletes would beat “quite a few” world records at the event.
