What are the Enhanced Games? Everything to know about the controversial, PED-fueled Olympic-style competition

Every two years, a version of the Olympics — either Summer or Winter — brings together the world's best athletes to determine the best of the best.

This has led to some truly impressive human feats over the years, but the company Enhanced — which describes itself as “a global movement that develops scientific insights, medical discoveries and record-breaking sports events to unite humanity and inspire scientific innovation” — wants to see if humans are capable of more.

The Olympics have intense doping and drug regulations that do not allow for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Enhanced had the idea to see what humans can do in the same events, given the safe administration of certain PEDs, to see how much science can elevate performance.

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The Enhanced Games will be held in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. There will be events held in swimming, track and weightlifting, as well as a strongman exhibition.

The event has sparked plenty of controversy among athletes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), who are worried about the message that comes from supporting and encouraging an event like this.

Here is everything you need to know about the Enhanced Games.

What are the Enhanced Games?

The Enhanced Games will be a series of competitions across track, swimming and weightlifting.

It will be very similar to the Summer Olympics, except Enhanced wants to use the science at its disposal to safely enhance athletes and see what humans can achieve.

Per the company’s website, “Enhanced Games is a new global sports competition designed to push the boundaries of human performance. The Games challenge traditional models of sport by embracing science, innovation, and measurable performance enhancement under regulated conditions.”

When are the Enhanced Games?

The Enhanced Games will be held over Memorial Day weekend on May 24. Earlier in the weekend, there will be media availability and a medical symposium, as the company claims it wants to be transparent about the science behind the event.

The events will be held in front of an invite-only crowd of 2,500 people on Sunday.

How to watch the Enhanced Games

The Enhanced Games can be streamed through the Roku Sports Channel. The companies announced the deal on May 11, and the stream will start at 9 p.m. ET.

The Enhanced Games opening events will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET and will stream on the company’s YouTube, Rumble, Twitch and Kick accounts.

Who is competing in the Enhanced Games?

There will be 40 athletes competing in the event. Each participant can choose whether to participate “enhanced” or not. Athletes will be able to pick what form of PEDs they would like to use, and some are choosing to remain clean.

There are some Olympic athletes in the mix. British Olympian Ben Proud, American Olympians Fred Kerley and Hunter Armstrong, Barbados Olympian Tristan Evelyn and Olympic weightlifter Boady Santavy are among the 40 athletes slated to compete.

Weightlifter Thor Bjornsson, who portrayed The Mountain in “Game of Thrones,” is also expected to compete.

What is the controversy?

The main controversy comes from how strict the anti-doping policies are for all other competitions, yet this event encourages it.

The IOC and WADA athletes’ commission released a statement discussing how the games were a “betrayal of everything that we stand for.”

“Promoting performance-enhancing substances and methods sends a dangerous message, especially to current and future generations of athletes.

“Such substances can lead to serious long-term health consequences, even death — and encouraging athletes to use them is utterly irresponsible and immoral. No level of sporting success is worth such a cost.”

To show how serious it is, World Aquatics adopted a new rule that bans any athlete who participates in the Enhanced Games, whether he or she chooses to enhance or remain clean.

What are Enhanced Games participants competing for?

Each athlete has a signed contract to participate in the event. There is a total prize pool of $25 million up for grabs.

While each athlete received a base pay and “unmatched athlete care,” there are bonuses available.

“For every sprint world record, over 50m freestyle in the pool and the 100m sprint on the track, $1m has been promised, while winners of each event will receive $250,000.”