Matt Richards: Enhanced Games money would 'sway many', says Olympic gold medallist
- Published
Matt Richards won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay in the Tokyo 2020 Games
Olympic gold winner Matt Richards says that, although not tempted himself, the money being offered to compete in the Enhanced Games would 'sway many'.
The proposed controversial Olympics-style event, where doping would be allowed, was announced in June 2023.
World Athletics president Lord Coe says taking part would be "moronic" and any competitor would face a lengthy ban.
But Richards warns: "The money being offered to athletes to take part would be enough to sway many competitors."
The Worcestershire swimmer, who won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020 as part of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team, says he is not tempted himself.
"It's not something that would sway me," the 21-year-old from Droitwich told BBC Hereford & Worcester.
"I am very firm on my position on this. No amount of money would be able to bring me over to the other side."
But he sees many fellow athletes being lured by the sort of money reportedly on offer from the Enhanced Games - and has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Aquatics to start paying their star athletes for competing in the Olympics and breaking world records.
"The IOC don't pay any money for their athletes," he said. "There are no bonuses available, say £1m if you break Usain Bolt's world record. That's not something you're going to win.
"When you have something like the Enhanced Games coming along and offering big money to athletes, lots of people are going to take that.
"It will kill the spectacle of the Olympics and take away the magic of what the Games is and what they stand for."
Former world champion swimmer James Magnussen said in early February that he had agreed to come out of retirement to compete in the Enhanced Games in return for $1m (£792,600).
"The governing bodies need to start putting the athletes first," said Richards. "It will be a wake-up call that may come off the back of this."
'Doping is unsafe'
Herefordshire rower Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne, part of the British team in Tokyo four years ago, is concerned over the risk to the adults of the future.
"It doesn't give a good message to these children who look up to athletes," she told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "Taking performance enhancing drugs is dangerous.
"If you're striving for better results and bigger achievements you're going to push boundaries and end up doing things that are unsafe.
Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne won silver in the European quadruple sculls in Italy in 2021
"Pushing the limits of your body with doping is unsafe. We don't know enough about science and our bodies yet to know what is going to harm us and what isn't.
"I acknowledge that this is going to have the potential to make people faster, and they will go quicker than people have done before as a result of people doping.
"But it's not the sport that I do. It's a different sport. To say 'we're breaking records' - you're not breaking records. You're just creating new ones."
What are the Enhanced Games?
The Enhanced Games claim to be the 'Olympics of the future', allowing athletes to take performance enhancing drugs, in a bid to 'break world records.'
Originally proposed for December 2024, it was the brainchild of Australian businessman Aron D'Souza.
It is now reportedly being geared to be up and running by 2025.
D'Souza told BBC Hereford & Worcester: "The Enhanced Games will allow both natural and enhanced athletes to compete side by side - with no requirement for anyone to be enhanced.
Aron D'Souza first announced the concept of the Enhanced Games in June 2021
"Is Seb Coe actually promoting anti-competitive behaviour by potentially banning natural athletes?
"It's really inappropriate of him to make those statements. He clearly did not consult with his lawyers, before making that foul mouth rant at a press conference."
The World Anti-Doping Agency has called the Enhanced Games "a dangerous and irresponsible concept."
The BBC has requested a statement from World Athletics.
Matt Richards, Aron D'Souza and Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne were talking to BBC Hereford & Worcester