Titmus whacks ‘juiced up’ novelty act as Magnussen fails

Australian swimming golden girl Ariarne Titmus has rubbished the Enhanced Games, after a former Olympian broke the lads’s 50m freestyle global report.

On Thursday morning, information broke Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev touched the wall in 20.89 in February which shaved 0.02 of a 2d off Cesar Cielo’s 2009 global report.

But Gkolomeev did it in a “juiced-up” pursuit of a $1.5m bounty submit via organisers of the Enhanced Games for breaking the sector report.

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On Thursday morning, Titmus mentioned the swim – which would possibly not be recognised via World Aquatics – was once a “bit of a kick in the bum” for blank athletes.

“I actually saw that this morning – I’ve never heard of this guy in my life, but he broke the men’s 50m freestyle world record juiced up,” she mentioned on Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren.

“I was looking at it on my phone … this is a bit of a kick in the bum to any athlete who’s ever worked their whole life to train.

“Everyone’s clearly ready to have their very own opinion, however I do not adore it.”

Titmus and fellow Olympians have to maintain a strict diary of their whereabouts for them to be available for random drug tests.

“We have to move via such a lot of processes to be blank. All the whereabouts, the drug checking out, announcing the place we sleep each evening for the drug testers to reach.

“You’ve got to do so much to make sure you’re clean. It’s just, I don’t know… “

Australian former Olympian James Magnussen is the face of the Enhanced Games, which introduced in Las Vegas on Thursday morning (AEST), 12 months out from the primary video games.

Magnussen fell just one hundredth of a 2d in need of Olympic gold within the 100m freestyle on the London 2012 Games. He was once additionally probably the most fiercest campaigners for a blank recreation.

It was once put to Titmus that Magnusson’s identify is now “a bit mud” within the swimming neighborhood.

“I don’t feel like we’ve spoken about it too much … but I think most people would be of the same opinion,” she mentioned.

With a touch of irony, Magnussen may just best watch in disbelief because the (USD) $1 million novelty cheque he’d spent the previous 12 months doping for was once introduced to anyone else.

‘The Missile’ in February 2024 put out a choice – that was once therefore replied via wealthy buyers – announcing he would “100 per cent do it” if the organisers of the Enhanced Games “came to the party with $1 million for the [50m freestyle] world record”.

With all of the bells and whistles, Enhanced Games founder Aron D’Souza got here, pronouncing he would stump up US$1m cheque for the sector report.

Retired since 2019, the 34-year-old started a 12-month doping program below the supervision of docs, by which he would take peptides and feature steroids injected directly into his butt cheek.

“I got jacked … I was probably 10 to 15 kilos bigger than any swimmer there’s ever been,” Magnussen instructed The Sydney Morning Herald.

“I did the first seven weeks straight, training twice a day. It was 49 days straight of high-intensity work in the pool and gym.”

Despite all of the very best intentions and supervision from docs, this system was once taking a toll on Magnussen’s frame. When the day got here to aim the report at a pool in North Carolina, Magnussen was once smartly off the tempo.

His very best time of 3 makes an attempt was once a 22.73 – a whopping 1.82sec slower than the 20.91 he was once chasing, set via Cesar Cielo in 2009, and 1.21sec slower than his personal blank PB of 21.52.

“By the time I got there, I was spent,” he mentioned.

“It felt like the end of a really long journey rather than the pinnacle of high performance. There were some stressful moments around it because we couldn’t get suits right up until the last day. People were flying to other states to get suits off retired swimmers.

“I felt sturdy, I felt just right within the water and my methodology felt just right, however I simply had no pass. It’s hectic as a result of I did quicker occasions than that during coaching.

“I kind of knew by the time we got there. I’ll talk myself into anything, but I kind of knew in the weeks leading up. We had a plan for the protocol to peak at week 12, but I ended up being on the protocol for 20 weeks.”

Magnussen was once on a therapeutic massage desk when Gkolomeev, who had joined Magnussen within the quest for the sector report remaining yr after listening to the Aussie on a podcast, stepped as much as the blocks.

“I looked out the door and heard the starter gun go off,” Magnussen mentioned.

“I was probably at the 35-metre mark when I saw Kristian go past. He was absolutely flying. I was like, ‘Holy shit, that’s fast’.

“I regarded up, and it was once 20.89. It was once odd. People had been operating into rooms in all places. Kristian had damaged the sector report. It was once loopy.”

Like Magnussen, Gkolomeev is a former Olympian who retired from traditional ‘clean’ competition to take part in the Enhanced Games last year. He had years earlier studied human performance exercise science at college in the US.

He finished fifth in the 100m freestyle in Tokyo and Paris.

Magnussen was surprisingly calm for a bloke who had put the call out, had it answered, and then watch as someone else claimed it for themselves.

“I did not get one million dollars as smartly, which is hectic,” he said.

“I feel the principle factor for me was once I were given a truly just right figuring out of this procedure and what to do, tips on how to teach for it.”