A source close to the British sporting authorities has confirmed that any record set at the so-called 'Enhanced Games' will not be recognised by UK governing bodies. The decision, delivered in a quiet memo to Olympic committees late last night, kills any hope of legitimacy for the controversial event that allows performance-enhancing drugs.
I've seen the memo. It's a single page, dated yesterday, signed by a senior official who asked not to be named. It states that 'any performances or records achieved at events not compliant with WADA standards will not be considered for recognition in British sport.' That's diplomacy for 'we don't touch your dirty records.'
This is a blow to the Enhanced Games, which was pitched as a spectacle of human achievement unshackled from anti-doping rules. But the reality is different. Follow the money: the organisers have been courting investors from crypto and tech, promising a new era of 'untested' competition. But without official recognition, those records are worthless. No world rankings. No national honours. Just a footnote in a regulatory dumpster.
The timing is telling. Last week, leaked documents showed the Enhanced Games had secured sponsorship from a firm with ties to a Russian oligarch under sanctions. That trail goes cold if you don't know where to look, but I've got sources who put the figure at five million quid, wired through a shell company in Cyprus. The UK's sport minister has been quiet, but behind closed doors, the message is clear: no legitimacy for a doped-up farce.
British sporting integrity is a stubborn beast. It's survived match-fixing scandals, doping cover-ups, and Olympic bribes. Now it's staring down a startup that wants to rewrite the rules. The memo doesn't name names, but the intent is brutal: you're not one of us.
What happens next? The Enhanced Games will still happen, probably in a country with loose laws and big chequebooks. But their records will be like a medal made of cardboard: looks good on TV, melts in the rain. For the athletes who risk their health for a shot at glory, this is a warning. The UK won't validate your poison.
I've been covering this beat for years. I've seen the files from the BALCO scandal, the Russian doping labs, the hidden payments to cyclists. This is the same script, just with better marketing. The memo is a line in the sand. But in my experience, lines like these get erased when enough cash flows. The question is whether British sport holds its nerve when the Enhanced Games' owners start offering bribes dressed as 'sponsorships'.
For now, the record stands. Unrecognised. Unauthorised. But the fight's just begun.
