Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev secured a $1.75 million payout at the inaugural Enhanced Games in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 24, 2026.
He won the 50-meter freestyle final in 20.81 seconds, beating Cameron McEvoy's sanctioned mark of 20.88 seconds.
However, the time will not be ratified as a world record because the event allowed performance-enhancing substances under medical supervision.
Gkolomeev also won the 100-meter freestyle final in 46.6 seconds, earning a $250,000 first-place prize for each victory plus a $1 million bonus for surpassing the swimming benchmark.
"Another million, I’m going to say it’s not bad at all," said Gkolomeev, a former Olympic finalist.
The financial windfall marks a significant milestone for the swimmer, who previously collected a separate million-dollar bonus during an Enhanced Games trial event last year.
"This is going to change my life to the good for sure, it’s a big help for me and my family and yeah, I’m going to continue," said Gkolomeev.
Other Event Results
Australian swimmer James Magnussen, the first athlete to sign with the organization two years ago, finished last in both the 100-meter and 50-meter freestyle events.
He clocked 49.44 seconds in the longer distance while wearing a specialized gold swimsuit.
Despite consecutive fourth-place finishes, Magnussen secured $140,000 in total prize money, consisting of $50,000 from the 100-meter event and a $90,000 share from the 50-meter sprint, alongside an undisclosed appearance fee.
In track events, United States sprinter Fred Kerley won the men's 100-meter sprint final in 9.97 seconds, failing to break his personal best of 9.76 seconds or Usain Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds.
Kerley, who competed without performance-enhancing drugs, walked away with a $250,000 prize after a race that required four separate starts due to field disruptions, including an untied shoe and false start signals.
"They need to train a little harder and go a little harder some more," said Kerley regarding his fellow competitors.
The 2022 world champion expressed frustration with the procedural delays and the readiness of the other sprinters during the preliminary phases in Las Vegas.
"[There was] a lot of false starts, a lot of jumping. A lot of people don’t want to run the heats and everything.
They’ve got to do better than that," said Kerley.
Clean American swimmer Hunter Armstrong won the men's 50-meter backstroke in 24.21 seconds, defeating Ireland's Shane Ryan, who timed 25.23 seconds while under medical supervision for enhancements.
Armstrong, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who experienced financial hardship after sponsor cuts following the 2024 Paris Olympics, secured a $250,000 payout while maintaining his drug-testing eligibility for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
British Olympic silver medalist Ben Proud finished 0.05 seconds outside the 50-meter butterfly world record of 22.27 seconds to claim a $250,000 victory.
"I think I am," said Proud when questioned about his satisfaction with the prize earnings. He acknowledged that the primary objective for competitors remained breaking established global milestones.
"But I think we all know what we came here for, and that’s a world record," said Proud.
In the women's division, Tristan Evelyn won the 100-meter sprint final in 11.25 seconds without the use of performance enhancers, finishing three-quarters of a second behind Florence Griffith-Joyner's 38-year-old record.
Enhanced Games organizers reported that 12 athletes set a total of 14 personal bests across swimming and weightlifting disciplines, which included a deadlift competition featuring Hafthor Björnsson and Mitchell Hooper.
The event drew sharp criticism from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee, which labeled the competition utterly irresponsible and immoral, while World Aquatics threatened sanctions for participating athletes.
The debut broadcast on YouTube faced early technical difficulties, freezing for 11 minutes after the opening seven minutes of action before a streaming audience that reached 53,506 viewers.
The corporate backers behind the publicly traded company, which received foundational capital from investors like Peter Thiel, intend to develop the venture into an online pharmacy operating under medical supervision.
"It’s just the beginning," said CEO Max Martin to an invited crowd of roughly 2,500 spectators on the Las Vegas Strip.
