Olympic great Perkins warns doping-allowed Enhanced Games are ‘borderline criminal’

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Olympic great and Australian Sports Commission chief Kieren Perkins says “someone will die” if a multi-sport event that he called “borderline criminal” and which allows banned performance-enhancing substances goes ahead. The Enhanced Games have been proposed by Australian entrepreneur and London-based Aron D’Souza. Australia’s dual world champion swimmer and triple Olympic medalist James Magnussen is the first athlete to publicly pledge to compete at the 2025 event. D’Souza has promised Magnussen $1 million if he can break the world 50-meter freestyle record. Magnussen has retired from international competitive swimming. Perkins says sport shouldn’t turn its back on athletes contemplating taking part, and they should be “protected from making poor decisions.”